Book Smugglers Publishing Gods and Monsters

Book Smugglers Publishing: Open Call For Short Stories Submissions (Summer 2017)

Submissions are now closed. As of August 23, 2016 Book Smugglers Publishing is currently open for short stories submissions for publication in 2017.

General information and theme:

We’re looking for original short stories from all around the world as long as they are written in English. Our goal is to publish at least three short stories, unified by a central theme. Each short story will be accompanied by one original piece of artwork from an artist commissioned by us separately.

For the publication period between May and August 2017, the theme is:

GODS AND MONSTERS

GODS AND MONSTERS will be Book Smugglers Publishing’s fourth season of short stories, following Fairytale Retellings, First Contact, and Superheroes.

When it comes to Gods and Monsters, anything goes. You – the author – should take the theme and run with it any way you want. It can be Gods VERSUS Monsters, or Gods but not Monsters, or Monsters without Gods. As usual, we encourage authors to subvert these sample themes, to expand upon what “gods and/or monsters” means, and adapt the prompt to other possible connotations and genres under the Speculative Fiction umbrella.

What We’re Looking For:

  • DIVERSITY. We want to read and publish short stories that reflect the diverse world we live in, about and from traditionally underrepresented perspectives. We more than welcome stories featuring LGBTQIA characters. Following Fireside Fiction’s recent report on underrepresented black writers, we more than welcome black writers to submit their stories.
  • Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult audience submissions are welcome. Good speculative fiction is ageless!
  • We are VERY keen on receiving Romance stories – or stories with strong romantic elements.
  • We are VERY keen on receiving Horror stories – or stories with strong horror elements.
  • Creativity & Subversion. We love subversive stories. We want you to challenge the status quo with your characters, story telling technique, and themes.

Guidelines for Submission:

  • We are looking for original speculative fiction, between 1,500 and 17,500 words in length.
  • These SFF offerings must be previously unpublished; we do not accept simultaneous submissions.
  • Profanity, sex, and other explicit situations are fine as long as they fit within the context of the story.
  • Submissions are open now, and will be open through December 31 2016 11:59PM PST. Any submissions received after that date will not be considered.

Payment and Terms:

We are funding this ourselves because we are passionate about finding new and diverse voices in SFF. We will be paying $0.06 per word up to $500 (although we welcome stories from a minimum of 1,500 words and up to a maximum of 17,500 words long).

We plan on publishing these short stories for free in their entirety on thebooksmugglers.com. We also plan on selling these stories in ebook (and possibly limited print editions) at a 50% net royalty, with potential inclusion in future anthologies (royalty to be negotiated). We ask for exclusive rights for one year, and non-exclusive rights following that.

How to Submit:

Submissions should be emailed to submissions@thebooksmugglers.com. You may also use the contact form below.

Please attach your full story as a document (.doc, .docx, .rtf). Do not send your story as text in the body of an email; we will ignore any manuscripts that are not attachments.

A cover letter is highly recommended – tell us who you are! – as we would love to learn a little bit about you and the inspiration behind your work (or anything else you think is relevant to your story submission). Important new addition for 2017: We are including an optional self-identification field in the submissions form. If you would like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you’ve had related to a community you belong to, your sexual orientation or gender identity, or your family or cultural background please do so by filling out this field (or if you prefer to email, in your cover letter). This is completely voluntary and not a requirement.

We will reply to all authors who have submitted work with our decision by February 10 2017.

We are happy to answer any of your questions – leave a comment or email us (contact@thebooksmugglers.com), and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

And…that’s it! We hope to be reading your excellent short stories very soon.

Submissions Form

Use this form to submit your manuscript for Book Smugglers Publishing: Summer 2018 ("Awakenings").

* indicates required field

Acceptable file types: doc,docx,rtf,txt.
Maximum file size: 1mb.

41 Comments

  • Submissions – Gods and Monsters. – Allan Walsh – Author
    August 24, 2016 at 3:57 am

    […] Smugglers Publishing is currently open for short stories submissions for publication in 2017. Click here for more […]

  • Julie C
    August 24, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    Uhm, the numbers don’t add up.
    Max paid is $500 for 0.06 a word, for a max of 17,500 words. But to get $500, you’d have to submit around 29k…

  • Mike Reeves-McMillan
    August 24, 2016 at 6:15 pm

    I heard from a couple of sources that this call was open, but your booksmugglerspub.com site (which is the one that The Submission Grinder links to) hasn’t been updated in a while and still says that short story subs are closed, and subs for the novella initiative are open. Might be good to update that, since I had to search around to find this post and get the real scoop.

    Thanks.

  • Julie C
    August 24, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    Nevermind that… I see now why I’m a writer and not a mathematician! 😉

  • Ana
    August 26, 2016 at 4:02 am

    Mike – yes, we are working on the website as we speak.

  • Short Story and Chapbook Writing Contests! | Phil Giunta – Space Cadet in the Middle of Eternity
    August 29, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing: Open Call For Short Stories Submissions (Summer 2017) | The Book Smuggler… […]

  • Weekly Roundup – September 2, 2016 – paper cat press
    September 2, 2016 at 10:16 am

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing is seeking submissions for an anthology on the theme of Gods and Monsters. Length must be between 1500 and 17,500 words in length. Payment is $0.06 per word, up to $500. Submissions are due by December 31, 2016. […]

  • Michaele Jordan
    September 4, 2016 at 5:56 pm

    No, I think you’ve missed a decimal point opt something. 8,333 words at $.06 comes to about $500. ($499.98). So words over 8,333 are not paid. Not complaining, mind you. Most editors include a cap.

  • Weekly Roundup – September 9, 2016 – paper cat press
    September 9, 2016 at 10:04 am

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing is seeking submissions for an anthology on the theme of Gods and Monsters. Length must be between 1500 and 17,500 words in length. Payment is $0.06 per word, up to $500. Submissions are due by December 31, 2016. […]

  • Anonymous
    September 19, 2016 at 10:50 pm

    Hi! Super excited for this competition – will you accept multiple submissions?

  • Anonymous
    September 19, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    Hi! Super excited for this cycle – will you accept multiple submissions?

  • 32 Publishers that Pay $250+ for Short Stories
    September 20, 2016 at 5:13 pm

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing is currently seeking submissions for their upcoming anthology “Gods and Monsters.” According to their submission guidelines “As usual, we encourage authors to subvert these sample themes, to expand upon what “gods and/or monsters” means, and adapt the prompt to other possible connotations and genres under the Speculative Fiction umbrella.” The deadline is December 31st, 2016. They pay 6 cents per word up to $500. To learn more, read their submission guidelines. […]

  • 32 Publishers Who Pay $250 for Shorts – Freelance Writer & Editor
    September 20, 2016 at 8:21 pm

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing is currently seeking submissions for their upcoming anthology “Gods and Monsters.” According to their submission guidelines “As usual, we encourage authors to subvert these sample themes, to expand upon what “gods and/or monsters” means, and adapt the prompt to other possible connotations and genres under the Speculative Fiction umbrella.” The deadline is December 31st, 2016. They pay 6 cents per word up to $500. To learn more, read their submission guidelines. […]

  • Sendie Jc
    September 20, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    Is it a contest?

  • Allison
    September 22, 2016 at 12:28 am

    Would ghosts count as “monsters” here, or do you want something more corporeal?

  • Publishers Who Pay $250+ for Short Stories – Submit That Story Now!!! – Bagus Mutendi
    September 22, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing – currently seeking submissions for their upcoming anthology “Gods and Monsters.” According to their submission guidelines “As usual, we encourage authors to subvert these sample themes, to expand upon what “gods and/or monsters” means, and adapt the prompt to other possible connotations and genres under the Speculative Fiction umbrella.” The deadline is December 31st, 2016. They pay 6 cents per word up to $500. […]

  • M.L.
    September 23, 2016 at 1:59 am

    By “exclusive rights” does that mean that you have exclusive rights to the story as well as the characters? Or would we be allowed to reuse the characters in other stories?

  • Book Smugglers Publishing Pays Up to $500 Per Short Story
    September 27, 2016 at 12:24 pm

    […] To learn more, read their submission guidelines. […]

  • Loose-leaf Links #28 | Earl Grey Editing
    September 29, 2016 at 4:44 pm

    […] The Book Smugglers is also open for submission. Their theme is Gods and Monsters and they’re looking for stories between 1.5-17.5K words. Deadline closes 31 December. […]

  • Korrigan
    October 4, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    Six cents per word adds up to five hundred dollars with the 8,334th word (which is actually $500.04—the last four cents, in the event that a story were exactly that length, would not be paid). To reach $500 at a word count of 29,000 would require a rate of about 1.8 cents per word.

  • What I’m Writing: October | A Wheezy Life of Words and Coffee
    October 5, 2016 at 9:08 am

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing […]

  • 7 Short Story Publishers that Pay $150+
    October 11, 2016 at 4:06 pm

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing is currently seeking submissions for their upcoming anthology “Gods and Monsters.” According to their submission guidelines “As usual, we encourage authors to subvert these sample themes, to expand upon what “gods and/or monsters” means, and adapt the prompt to other possible connotations and genres under the Speculative Fiction umbrella.” The deadline is December 31st, 2016. They pay 6 cents per word up to $500. To learn more, read their submission guidelines. […]

  • Anthology Markets – Angela Benedetti
    October 15, 2016 at 7:32 am

    […] December 2016 — Gods and Monsters — Book Smugglers […]

  • T.L.
    October 16, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    I was wondering if exclusive rights means rights to the characters or just the stories?

  • Anthology Submissions | Rose Hill's Writing Grove
    October 17, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    […] GODS AND MONSTERS […]

  • JPE
    October 31, 2016 at 12:04 am

    I’m again asking the question posted earlier. Are you accepting multiple submissions? Have sent one story and am wondering if I might send another.

  • Ana
    October 31, 2016 at 3:41 am

    Hi, yes, we accept multiple submissions.

  • Paying markets for short fiction | Advice from a Caterpillar
    November 9, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    […] Book Smugglers Publishing is currently open for short stories submissions for publication in 2017. They are looking for original short stories from all around the world as long as they are written in English. Their goal is to publish at least three short stories, unified by a central theme. Gods and Monsters will be Book Smugglers Publishing’s fourth season of short stories. […]

  • ‘Tis the Season for Prose: Submission Roundup for December 2016 | Gwendolyn Kiste
    December 2, 2016 at 10:45 am

    […] Book Smugglers, Gods and Monsters Payment: .06/word (maximum $500) Length: 1,500-17,500 words Deadline: December 31st, 2016 What They Want: The current theme is Gods and Monsters. Writers are encouraged to play with this theme any way they choose, including gods without monsters, vice versa, or a combination of gods and monsters. Find the details here. […]

  • Loose-leaf Links #31 | Earl Grey Editing
    December 8, 2016 at 4:03 pm

    […] reminder that the Book Smugglers will be closing their submission period at the end of the year. They’re looking for stories of 1.5K to 17.5K words on the theme of Gods and […]

  • Phil Giunta
    December 28, 2016 at 10:00 am

    Story submitted! Thanks for this opportunity. I look forward to February. 🙂

  • J'nae Rae Spano
    December 28, 2016 at 6:35 pm

    Redo your math, if you divide 500 by .06 it would 8,333.33. So anything 8,333 words on up is paid $500.00. So, for the shortest they’re asking for they’d pay $90.00 since 1500 x .06 = 90.
    If you submitted 29,000 words at $.06 it would be $1740.00.

  • J'nae Rae Spano
    December 28, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Disregard. LOL! See she figured it out reading further down the posts.

  • Tony
    December 29, 2016 at 2:10 pm

    Is there any specific style of formatting you prefer or require?

  • Theresa Gillmore
    February 1, 2017 at 7:14 am

    hi, thank you for the opportunity. I did submit back in December using the online form, but I didn’t receive an email confirmation for the submission. Is this correct?
    Thanks,
    T

  • Tony
    February 1, 2017 at 8:02 am

    I submitted before deadline as well, but via email. Also didn’t receive any confirmation. I was curious of the same thing??

  • Ana
    February 2, 2017 at 4:33 am

    Hello – we are still reading submissions, and will reply to all by February 10

  • paul
    March 29, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    Hi, are you still reading submissions? Haven’t had a reply yet.

  • Ana
    March 30, 2017 at 8:42 am

    Hi Paul, we finished reading submissions a long time ago and as far we we know, replied to everybody. Please send an email for more information.

  • kevin malone
    February 2, 2021 at 4:24 am

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