CONTESTS!
Our First Contest!
There is no fee to enter. All entries whether they place or not will be considered for publication.
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What is Nemesis?
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The inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall.
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A long-standing rival; an archenemy.
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A person’s undoing.
Theme Trope: Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Allies, Enemies as Lovers/Friends
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1st place: $100 via Paypal
Author Print Copy
Author Interview published on all WTP socials and website.
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2nd Place $50 via Paypal
Author Print copy
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3rd Place $20 via Paypal
Author Print copy
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Working Title: Nemesis
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Premise: Sometimes great loves begin with great fury. These are such tales of passion and partnership that ignite somewhere closer to hate. Warriors on opposite ends of a battlefield align to oppose a greater evil. Sworn enemies become bound brothers for the greater good. Whatever it is that puts them at odds, it's no match to the power of what binds them together.​
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Genres: Keep it speculative. Romance on some level is preferred, but not required—passion, emotion, fierce bonds are what we are looking for.
We’re also hoping to see a lot more #OwnVoices pieces, female authors, LGBTQA+ stories, but all are welcome to submit!​
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Encouraged Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Foe Romance Subtext (But skip the sub and make it TEXT!)
Belligerent Sexual Tension
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You
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Pairing Examples:
Beauty and the Beast
Buffy/Spike
Rey/Kylo
Negan/Maggie (Enemies to allies)
Nina and Matthias (Six of Crows)
Batman/Joker (In fanfiction)
Grindelwald/Albus Dumbledore (In fanfiction)
The Doctor/ The Master (Mostly in fanfiction)
Riddick/Fry (Pitch Black)
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Length Accepted:
1000 to 15,000 words
Eligibility: Open to all. No Reprints. No simultaneous submissions.
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Multiple Submissions: yes
Open Until Filled Submission Calls
​Working Title: Roar
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Deadline: When Full
Premise:
Powerful heroines with a strong retro, sword and sorcery vibe. Think Red Sonia, Valerian from Dragonslayer, Valeria from Conan the Barbarian, Zula of Conan the Destroyer, Sorsha from Willow or even Xena!
The theme is fantasy, but some elements of romance or horror are welcome. Looking for lots of #OwnVoices, female authors, LGBTQA+ stories, but all are welcome to submit!
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Length Accepted:
Drabble, Flash, and Shorts.
Eligibility: Open to all. No Reprints. No simultaneous submissions.
Multiple Submissions: See guidelines and story lengths for the number of submissions per pen name.
Publication: TBD
​Working Title: 50 Shades of Dead
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Deadline: When Full
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Premise:
Horror romance/erotic horror. This is not for pure erotica or romance (no standard PNR), and not for horror that lacks any romantic elements. The components of romance, sensuality, and horror should be well woven together. Happily ever afters not required. Sex not required, but if included should be well done. The best submissions will be equal parts titillating and nightmare fuel.
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Looking for stories at a hard R to NR rating, but all levels of sensuality and horror will be considered. If you have ever wanted to push boundaries, this is the call to do it in!
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Looking for lots of #OwnVoices, female authors, LGBTQA stories, but all are welcome to submit!
Length Accepted:
Flash, and Shorts.
Eligibility: Open to all. No Reprints. No simultaneous submissions.
Multiple Submissions: See guidelines and story lengths for the number of submissions per pen name.
Publication: TBD
​Working Title: The Eyes of Evil
Deadline: TBA
Premise: Horror from the POV of the villain.
Eligibility: No Reprints. No simultaneous submissions.
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Working Title: Wicked Taxidermy 1
​Deadline: When Full
Premise:
Sometimes a story comes in and it is just amazing, but it doesn't quite fit the theme of the submission call. This anthology will be an ongoing series of the best non-themed speculative fiction we can find.
MUST have strong speculative elements.
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Length Accepted:
Drabble, Flash, and Shorts.
Publication: TBA
Closed Calls
Working Title: Apocalyptic Monsters
​Deadline: When Full CLOSED
Premise:
The human world has ended, done in by a pandemic, global warming, or maybe a nuclear bomb—spin the wheel of destruction and see what pops up! Out of the ashes, creatures of shadow and myth claim new dominion. Whether it is vampires fighting over the last remains of human cattle to survive, werewolves trying to rebuild a more Earth friendly society, or cthulian nightmares commiserating over a game of poker how they missed their window to enjoy human suffering, we want to see how the dead world fares under new management!
The theme is horror/monster fiction, but some elements of romance or humor are welcome.
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Submission Guidelines
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Unless otherwise stated, all submissions should be submitted to the link below.
Length
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Drabble = EXACTLY 100 words.
Excludes title and author. Hyphenated words count as 1. Scene break markers and em-dashes are also excluded.
No more than 5 drabbles per Pen Name per submission project.
These may be submitted at the same time if connected to one another, but all must stand alone as they are likely to be separated from one another in a given anthology.
Flash = 500 - 999 words.
Excludes title and author. Hyphenated words count as 1. Scene break markers and em-dashes are also excluded.
No more than 3 Flashes per Pen Name per submission project. These may be submitted at the same time if connected to one another (a beginning, middle, and end story) but must stand alone to some degree as they are likely to be separated from one another in a given anthology.
Short = 1000 - 6999 words
Excludes title and author. Hyphenated words count as 1. Scene break markers and em-dashes are also excluded.
No more than 1 Short per Pen Name per submission project, unless otherwise specified.
Novelette = 7000 - 15,000 words
Excludes title and author. Hyphenated words count as 1. Scene break markers and em-dashes are also excluded.
No more than 1 Short per Pen Name per submission project, unless otherwise specified.
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Compensation
Drabble = Digital Contributor copy
Flash = Digital Contributor copy​
Short = Digital Contributor copy
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10 USD via PayPal
Novelette = Digital Contributor copy
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20 USD via PayPal
What does #OwnVoices mean?
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This simply means that you and your main character share similar struggles. Both you and your main character belong to the same marginalized group, whether it be a case of gender, disability, or race (think women, LGBTQA, trans, native American).
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If a submission call lists a preference for #OwnVoices, that means we will lean toward these stories, but it will not be required unless otherwise stated in the call. All are perfectly welcome to submit!
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Is every submission accepted?
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Not even close. Our goal is to showcase up-and-coming authors in the best possible light, serving to provide a professional addition to their list of publications. These works should serve to advertise an author’s talent and style, and with included bios and links to their greater body of work, aid in funneling new readers to the author’s shelves. It will also benefit authors growing their audience by giving the readers on their mailing lists a little bite to hold them over until the author’s next book is released.
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Because we want every author featured in a given volume to feel proud enough of the publication to share it with their current and future readers, only works truly suited to the theme of the volume and of the utmost quality will be accepted. If the work isn’t ready for publication, or if it just doesn’t fit the high standard we have set, it will likely be rejected.
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Rejections not based on story quality and publication readiness, but rather based on simply not fitting the targeted theme, may be invited to place their story in a more suitable volume.
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What if I get rejected?
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Not every story will be accepted, and while quality is certainly the main factor, many things may contribute to a rejection. Rejection letters will try to express why a story could not be included in a specific volume and may possibly invite you to revise and resubmit.
Additionally, WTP is run by enthusiastic publishing professionals and writing professors, so rejected manuscripts may contain feedback on how to improve your craft. If you work with this feedback and feel you have overcome our objections to a piece, please feel free to resubmit it. Otherwise, please keep the feedback in mind for your next submission, which we are eager to read!
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