The below calls for submission are no longer active and are provided for archival purposes.
Submissions for the 2025 Novella Series are now closed; they were open June 15-30 2023 for trans women and writers of color, and then October 15-30 2023 for all writers.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: 17,500–40,000 words.
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Slipstream, & Weird. Hybrid work or difficult to categorize novellas are also welcome.
Standalone works, although they may be connected to other series or work.
We are particularly interested in work that explores some element of queer experience, broadly speaking.
Guidelines:
Please submit complete manuscripts (your entire novella) in .doc or .docx formats, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. However, please use italics and bold as necessary. The editor has an aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, genre, length, a short pitch/synopsis of the concept, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Novellas should be previously unpublished.
Please no multiple submissions.
Original submissions only. Short stories that have been adapted to novella length or similar are welcome, but the novella itself may not have been published.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
Some of our favorite novellas include A Ruin of Shadows by L.D. Lewis, Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson, and the Tensorate novellas by Neon Yang.
This call is for our 2025 Novella Series. Novellas will be distributed in paperback and ebook formats. Our standard contract will ask authors to choose between an Advance+Royalties option or a Royalties Only option. We ask for exclusive Worldwide English rights. We do not ask for audio rights.
Our turnaround time is expected to be around four months. Please query if you haven’t heard from us after 120 days. We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Embodied Exegesis: Transfeminine Speculative Futures were open to submissions from July 15 to October 15 2023.
This anthology, edited by Ann LeBlanc, will feature cyberpunk stories written by transfem authors.
Submit stories on Submittable from July 15th, 2023 to October 15th, 2023. Please contact us if there are any accessibility concerns for any reason and we’ll work with you.
What we’re looking for:
Originals and reprints.
Wordcount: Under 6,000 words.
Pay: $0.08/word for originals, $0.01/word for reprints
Concept: Cyberbunk and posthuman short stories by transfem authors.
What we want to see: Augmented bodies. Uploaded minds. Cybernetics, real cities, and virtual worlds. Putting the trans in transhumanism. We’re looking for stories that push characters' bodies and minds to their limits. This anthology will use a very broad definition of "cyberpunk"—anything from ten minutes into the future all the way through the distant and unrecognizable eons. We’re open to stories that infuse magic into the setting. We want the full spectrum: stories of trans joy and gender euphoria, and darker stories of trans sorrow, struggle, and dysphoria.
What we don’t want to see: We’re not interested in stories that retread ableist tropes equating body modification with the loss of humanity. We’re also not interested in stories that indulge in cyberpunk’s history of anti-Asian xenophobia.
Guidelines
Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Use italics for italics, etc. You do not need to include your legal name or home address.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, word count, a brief bio, and whether your story is original or a reprint. If you wish, you may include links to your website/social media and mention any previous publications if any. But please don’t stress about this cover letter. Your story is what matters, and if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine; please contact us to withdraw immediately if you take another offer.
Please only submit one story. The exception is if you receive a rejection within the submission window; in that case, you may submit a second, different story.
Submissions are open to transfem authors, including trans women, transfems, nonbinary trans women, etc. We’re not the gender cops, and you don’t need to justify or explain your identity. If you think you’d fit in an anthology of transfem authors, you belong here.
We’re especially interested in submissions from disabled writers, Black writers, Indigenous/Native writers, and other writers of color. Please don’t self-reject.
You should receive a confirmation of your submission via email. Please query after 90 days if you haven't heard back from us yet.
We’d love it if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press is closed to submissions of short stories for The Crawling Moon: Queer Tales of Inescapable Dread.
The anthology, edited by dave ring, will include queer stories featuring gothic horror, perversion and depravity.
The compensation level for original stories accepted to this anthology is $0.08/word.
Submit stories on Submittable until January 15th, 2023. Please contact us if there are any accessibility concerns for any reason and we’ll work with you.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: Under 6,000 words. 1-4,000 words is probably the sweet spot.
Concept: Horror stories exploring gothic elements, depravity and perversion.
What we want to see: We are looking for dark stories that subvert the gothic and explore the filthier edges of horror. We would like to be scandalized. We’re using the most inclusive definition of queer. Queer, trans, ace, undefinable. Throughout, we’re looking for rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity.
What we don’t want to see: We’re not interested in work which focuses on unexamined bigotry or sexual violence. While this is a darker-themed anthology, we intend to handle these subjects with care.
Guidelines:
Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Use italics for italics etc. The editor has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories should be previously unpublished.
Please no multiple submissions. If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another story.
Submissions are open to all. Authors from underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
You should receive a confirmation of your submission via email. Please query after 120 days if you haven't heard back from us yet about this project.
We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press is closed to submissions of short stories for Luminescent Machinations: Queer Tales of Monumental Invention.
The anthology, co-edited by Rhiannon Rasmussen and dave ring, will include queer stories of dark speculative fiction across genres featuring mechas and mechs of all stripes.
We running a Kickstarter to fund this project. The compensation level for original stories accepted to this anthology is $0.08/word.
You can submit stories on Submittable until January 31st, 2022. Please contact us if there are any accessibility concerns for any reason and we’ll work with you.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: Under 6,000 words. 1-4,000 words is probably the sweet spot.
Concept: Speculative stories focusing on queerness in the darker side of science-fiction, fantasy and horror: mechs, mecha and cybernetics as both extensions and perversions of humanity.
What we want to see: Starships, piloted and unpiloted machines of war or industry, the occasional cyborg… mecha are a representation of war, of power and resistance, of transcending human limits, a representation of extension of the body itself. We are looking for stories about these machines and the people who interface with them through a queer lens, in the most inclusive definition of queer. Queer, trans, undefinable. We welcome a broad interpretation of speculative genres; give us living metal and hand-seeded starships and knights in magic-powered armor (although we emphasized science-fiction above, we love genre elements from fantasy, horror and science fiction). Throughout, we’re looking for rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity.
What we don’t want to see: We're not interested in stories about technology being solely, irredeemably bad, but rather how it can be used both for benefit and for harm. We’re also not interested in work which focuses on unexamined bigotry or sexual violence. While this is a darker-themed anthology, we intend to handle these subjects with care.
Guidelines:
Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Use italics for italics etc. One of the co-editors has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories should be previously unpublished.
Please no multiple submissions. If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another story.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
You should receive a confirmation of your submission via email. Please query after March 30th if you haven't heard back from us yet about this project. Update: We’re running a little behind, but hope to get back to folks by 4/15.
We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press is now open to submissions of short stories for Opulent Syntax: Irish Speculative Fiction.
Opulent Syntax is an upcoming anthology of Irish speculative fiction from Neon Hemlock Press. Edited by Don Duncan and dave ring, we intend to publish and distribute the anthology both in Ireland (RoI and NI) and in the U.S.
The anthology will include short stories of speculative fiction from writers living in Ireland and Irish writers abroad. It will not include stories from writers from the extended Irish diaspora (i.e. people with Irish heritage but not born in Ireland). We’re particularly interested in stories that explore rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity.
Submissions closed October 31st, 2021. We are currently reviewing submissions.
What we want: stories of speculative fiction that explore the breadth of Irish identity, including immigrant or Irish Traveller/Mincéir narratives and queer/trans narratives. We’re open to work of any genre that has a speculative aspect at its core, including fantasy, horror, science fiction, narrative hybrids, the weird, slipstream, utopian/dystopian, alternate history and other less definable genres. Stories set outside of Ireland should be concerned with some aspect of Irish experience.
What we don’t want to see: Stories with no clear aspect of speculative fiction; stories from the extended Irish diaspora (i.e. people with Irish heritage but not born in Ireland); unexamined bigotry or sexual violence.
Wordcount: Under 6,000 words (1-4,000 words being the sweet spot). Compensation for original stories that are accepted to this anthology is USD$0.08/word.
Submission Guidelines:
Submit your story as a .doc or .docx file, formatted in Standard Manuscript Format or similar. Use a standard, easy to read font (e.g. Georgia, size 11 pt.) Use italics for italics, etc.
Include a brief cover/query letter containing: the submission title, length, and a brief bio; links to your website/social media, and previous publications, if any. (Don’t stress too much about this cover letter! If we’ve any additional questions, we’ll get in touch).
Simultaneous submissions are fine. Please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories must be previously unpublished.
Please, no multiple submissions. If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another story.
Submissions are open to people of any nationality resident on the island of Ireland and to Irish people living anywhere. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject!
Submissions will close October 31st, 2021 (Updated). You will receive a confirmation email on submitting your work. If you haven't heard back from us about this project within 120 days of submission, please do send a query email.
We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press is now closed to submissions of queer speculative fiction from DC-based writers.
We’ll be reaching out to folks who submitted to Queer Space Force soon.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: up to 3,000 words.
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Slipstream, & Weird. Hybrid work or difficult to categorize novellas are also welcome.
Standalone works, although they may be connected to other series or work.
We are particularly interested in work that explores some element of queer experience, broadly speaking.
Guidelines:
Please submit complete stories in .doc or .docx formats, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. However, please use italics and bold as necessary. The editor has an aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, genre, length, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer.
Please no multiple submissions.
Please only submit original submissions or reprints that are not currently available to read online.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
This time limited call is for one slot in the upcoming zine Queer Space Force, made possible by a grant from the DC chapter of the Awesome Foundation. Zines will be distributed in paperback and ebook formats. Payment will be $100.
Our turnaround time is expected to be less than two weeks. Please query if you haven’t heard from us after March 31st.
Neon Hemlock Press is now closed to submissions of short stories for Unfettered Hexes: Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness.
Neon Hemlock's next anthology will be called Unfettered Hexes: Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness and edited by dave ring. We'll be looking broadly for speculative stories of queer witches, occult rituals and dark hunger.
We ran a successful Kickstarter to fund this project. The compensation level for original stories accepted to this anthology is $0.08/word.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: Under 6,000 words. 1-4,000 words is probably the sweet spot.
Concept: Unfettered Hexes: Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness will be a speculative anthology that explores the boundaries between queer witches, the profane, and infinite darkness.
Unfettered Hexes asks you to sling salt in a circle, call the corners, and breathe life into the unutterable cadences that call forth the void. Find your coven, craft new rituals and hex your enemies.
For this anthology, we use the term "witch" in the broadest sense, paying homage to ritual practices, razor-sharp intent, and connections to the eldritch, the numinous and the otherworldly. We welcome tensions and alignments within those practices, and particularly look forward to non-Western and non-white interpretations. We acknowledge the challenges and strengths of #ownvoices work, while also asking that authors to be careful to avoid cultural appropriation if their writing includes genuine cultural practices.What we want to see: We are looking for speculative stories of witchery with queer narratives. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want indefinable stories. We welcome a broad interpretation of speculative genres; give us space witches and brutal rituals and beasts as otherworldly as you want them to be (we love genre elements from fantasy, horror and science fiction). Throughout, we’re looking for rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity.
What we don’t want to see: We’re also not interested in unexamined bigotry or sexual violence; pieces that include such should be nuanced or looking at the post-event experience of the survivors. And please pay strong attention to our note regarding cultural appropriate above.
Guidelines:
Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Use italics for italics etc. The editor has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories should be previously unpublished.
Please no multiple submissions. If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another story.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
You should receive a confirmation of your submission via email. Please query after February 28th if you haven't heard back from us yet about this project.
We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Queer short fiction reprints from 2020 are now closed for We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020.
We’re Here 2020 is now closed for submissions. The anthology will be co-edited by CL Clark and series editor Charles Payseur.
We are looking for:
The best speculative stories published in 2020 under 17,500 words that implicitly or explicitly explores queerness and/or transness.
We refer to queerness that is inclusive of ace/aro stories, trans and nonbinary stories, and intersex stories.
What we don’t want to see: Original/unpublished work, unqueer work, non-speculative work.
Guidelines:
Please submit your story in .pdf, .doc or .docx file, formatted for publication or in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Please use italics and bold as necessary. This should be the final version that was published, not including editor notes or track changes.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, where/when the story was published, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome.
Multiple submissions are welcome.
Reprint submissions from 2020 only. This can include self-published stories, and those published on your blog or Patreon.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
The compensation level for stories accepted to WE’RE HERE: THE BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION 2020 is $0.01/word. Submissions will close December 31st 2020.
Editors are encouraged to recommend work from their publications and can submit multiple stories for consideration. Authors may also submit their own work; authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
Please note that we will not be sending rejections for this anthology, as is standard for other Best Of anthologies. The authors of selected stories will be reached out to in April 2021. We will be announcing our ToC in May 2021.
We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press was open to submissions of poetry chapbook manuscripts from October 1 to November 1, 2020.
Submissions are currently closed.
We are looking for:
Length: 20-35 manuscript pages
We are particularly interested in work that explores some element of Black and Brown queer experience, broadly speaking.
Guidelines:
Please submit complete manuscripts (your entire chapbook) in .doc or .docx formats, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Please use italics and bold as necessary. The managing editor has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover letter with the title of your chapbook and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer.
Please no multiple submissions. If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another chapbook.
Original submissions only. Individual pieces can be previously published, but not the collection as a whole.
Submissions are open to BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/People of Color) LGBTQ/SGL poets.
Some of our favorite poets include Angela Jackson, Natalie Diaz, Tafisha Edwards, T’ai Freedom Ford, Xandria Phillips, and Li Young Lee.
Selected manuscripts will be printed as 5” x 5” chapbooks. Our standard chapbook contract pays $100 and 25 copies from a print run of 100, with an option to discuss a 50/50 split when the initial print run sells out. We ask for exclusive Worldwide English rights. We do not ask for audio rights.
Our turnaround time is expected to be around three months. Please query if you haven’t heard from us after 90 days. We’d love it if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press was open to submissions of speculative novellas from Black writers from June 5th to October 5th. Submissions were open to all writers September 15th to October 5th.
Novella submissions are now closed.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: 17,500–40,000 words.
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Slipstream, & Weird. Hybrid work or difficult to categorize novellas are also welcome.
Standalone works, although they may be connected to other series or work.
We are particularly interested in work that explores some element of queer experience, broadly speaking.
Guidelines:
Please submit complete manuscripts (your entire novella) in .doc or .docx formats, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Please use italics and bold as necessary. The editor has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, genre, length, a short pitch/synopsis of the concept, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Novellas should be previously unpublished.
Please no multiple submissions. If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another novella.
Original submissions only.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
Some of our favorite novellas include A Ruin of Shadows by L.D. Lewis, Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson, and the Tensorate novellas by JY Yang.
Novellas will be distributed in paperback and ebook formats. Our standard contract will ask authors to choose between an Advance+Royalties option or a Royalties Only option. We ask for exclusive Worldwide English rights. We do not ask for audio rights.
Our turnaround time is expected to be around three months. Please query if you haven’t heard from us after 90 days. We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.
Neon Hemlock Press was open to submissions of short stories for Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die from September 15th to November 30th.
The compensation level for original stories accepted to this anthology is $0.06/word. You can view the current list of contributors here.
Submissions are now closed.
We are looking for:
Wordcount: Under 6,000 words. 1-4,000 words is probably the sweet spot.
Concept: They joked that the only things left would be cockroaches and Twinkies, but they were wrong. They underestimated us. Tell us stories of queer resilience and queer survival, stories set after the end of a world that could be ours but might not be. Tell us about new queer beginnings born amidst the broken promises of the future.
Be inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road, yes, but the visions of the apocalypse we love also include The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, Apocalypse World by Vincent & Meguey Baker, Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller, and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.
What we want to see: We are looking for speculative stories that explore ramifications of the apocalypse through queer narratives. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want indefinable stories. We welcome a broad interpretation of the post-apocalyptic genre; give us your scraps of hope in every ruined future (we love genre elements from fantasy, horror and science fiction). Throughout, we’re looking for rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity.
What we don’t want to see: Don’t tell us directly how it ended. You can draw implications from the sunless sky or the poison water, but don’t give us a road map. We revel in the vagueness of possibility, so rather than Lady Liberty buried the sand, give us ambiguous landmarks and amalgamations of real places.
We’re not interested in unexamined bigotry or sexual violence; pieces that include such should be nuanced or looking at the post-event experience of the survivors.
Also, no zombies please, unless you have some very unconventional ones!
Guidelines:
Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format. Use italics for italics etc. The editor has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, and a brief bio. You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any. Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories should be previously unpublished.
Please no multiple submissions. If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another story.
Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.
You should receive a confirmation of your submission via email. Please query after January 31st if you haven't heard back from us yet about this project.