Tag Archives: speculative fiction

We’re looking for your finest short science fiction story

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Shoreline of Infinity, the newest British science fiction magazine,  is currently open for submissions until 3oth November 2016. We’re looking for stories up to 5,000 words.

We’re a quarterly magazine, and is available in print and digital formats – and we pay for stories.

We’re  looking for a good science fiction story, something that gives reality a tweak on the nose. An idea that makes us stop and think. But don’t forget your characters: all the best stories are seen through the eyes of characters your readers believe in.

The best advice is to read a Shoreline of Infinity for yourself to see the kind of stories we like.

Full details and submissions instructions are available on our submissions page.

PS We’re a little bit short of science fiction stories with steampunkian tendencies, and we’re becoming more open to the fantasy end of science fiction, if you follow me.

PPS We re-open for submission in the New Year.

Join us in The Twilight Zone on Sunday Oct 23rd

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smallscifiWriters Unchained are all set for their next Story Sunday event which is part of this year’s Bristol Festival of Literature and will feature some great sci-fi and spec-fic stories. The response to our call for submissions has been the best yet and the  line-up includes not only popular local writer/performers but also newcomers to the Bristol live-lit scene.

What can you expect if you decide to come along?

  •  Anne Corlett‘s award-winning story about space-travel
  • Philip Douch with sci-fi at its most hilarious
  • cosmic shenanigans from Jonty Levine, Barney Barret and Julie Hayman
  • an alien with a roving eye from  John Holland
  • an edgy take on time travel from  Alex Bridge

bristollitfest16If you feel the need for something more familiar, Mark Lewis offers boiled sweets (but not as you know them) and you can share an apocalyptic cigarette with Kevlin Henney. Or if far out really is your thing, we have D. S. Ketleby with an avian family saga.

We hope we have you hooked!

 

You can join us in the Twilight Zone NEXT SUNDAY October 23rd at Southbank Club, Bristol, BS3 1DB, 6 – 8 pm for what promises to be quite an evening.

Tickets £5 on the door.

 

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Story Sunday (Scifi, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction): call for submissions

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Let us tell you another story…

Writers Unchained of Bristol are delighted to announce the next Story Sunday event on October 23rd will be part of the 2016 Bristol Literature Festival (October 21 – 29th) an event famous for its nurturing of grassroots writing and performing talent.

shutterstock_322984532Our theme this time is The Twilight Zone so we’re calling for stories in the genres of scifi, fantasy and speculative fiction.

  • wordcount 500 – 1500
  • stories can be published or unpublished as long as you have the right to read it out.
  • deadline midnight Friday October 7th 2016
  •  only submit if you can read on Sunday October 23rd between 6 and 8 pm at Southbank Club, Dean Lane, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 1DB.

There’s more detailed information on how to submit on our website.

Don’t forget this is also an event for those who just enjoy listening!

Tickets for ‘non-readers’ will be £5 on the door.

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Call for submissions and British Fantasy Society best speculative fiction magazine nomination

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hold_fast_largewithtextalt-smallerFiction supplement Brexit edition

 Deadline 15 August 2016

 Holdfast magazine is an award winning speculative fiction magazine, that explores our world, minds, hearts, dreams, (anything really) through the lens of weird and wonderful writing.

We are looking for speculative fiction drawing from all of the themes from issues 5 – 8, but also specifically inspired by the UK’s recent decision to leave the EU. Where can you see this going? Are we headed for dystopia or utopia? What would the ghosts of people that died in our two world wars think? What would a secret supernatural underworld be feeling right now? How would this affect witches, robots, fairies? Is there a terrifying lizard monster wearing a human’s skin and leading a certain political party that really doesn’t like immigrants? Perhaps someone can go back in time to alter the result? Or maybe someone is mind-controlling the population?  We want your most imaginative speculative fiction to explore your thoughts and feelings concerning this historic time.

Please remember this is a speculative magazine, so we only accept fiction which falls under this umbrella – fantasy/horror/science fiction/magic realism etc:

  Themes to hang your Brexit fiction on:

Issue #5 Of Land, Sea and Sky
(think place/borders/ownership/migration/refugees/origins)

 Issue #6 Gods and Monsters
(think politics/manipulation/power)

 Issue #7 Looking Forward Looking Back
(think dystopia/utopia/time travel/origins of EU)

 Issue #8 Love Sex Romance
(think relationship/friendship/heartbreak/ unity)

 The fiction supplement will be published online on the magazine site and sent out as a newsletter to subscribers.

 Please read our submission guidelines before submitting.

 All submissions to: submissions@holdfastmagazine.com

We are also excited and very thankful to be shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society award for best magazine again, after we won it last year! (Still super amazed at that)

New issue out, call for submissions, and BFS award!

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HOLDFAST_TIME_2Issue#7 of Holdfast, Looking Forward, Looking Back is live!

We are so excited to have Tamora Pierce as our featured author, and talk to her about how her obsession with the Middle Ages as a child inspired her writing, as well as about writing the role models she felt were missing in fantasy. We have some wonderful short stories and poetry by Deborah Walker, Sian Lorna Dawson, Matt Harris, and Nicki Heinen in our fiction section. Find Sonia Mullet’s latest column on out-of-print SFF works, and a look at East Asian visions of the past and future by Lucy in our non-fiction section. And in cross media find our Terminator movie marathon, read about time travel and romance in Lisa Kerrigan’s article, and about TV show Quantum Leap in Time Travelling Without Moving by Tom Riley.

 

British Fantasy Awards

We are so amazed and thrilled to be able to say that we have now won the British Fantasy Society award for best magazine! It’s all thanks to our amazing writers and artists who make holdfast possible. Which leads us on to our next point:

 

Call for Submissions!

Holdfast Anthology 2015–2016

We are now looking for submissions for the next holdfast print anthology! Last year we successfully crowd-funded a print anthology in order to raise funds to pay our wonderful writers and artists for their work. This year’s will contain some of the best fiction, articles and artwork from issues 5–8, but we also want new fiction and articles on the following themes:

Of Land Sea and Sky (landscape, setting and place in SFF)

Gods and Monsters (religion and Politics)

Looking Forward, Looking back (time – from alternative history, fantasy set in the middle ages, through to dystopia and space opera, it’s a pretty broad theme)

Love, Sex, Romance (we are looking for interesting and original fiction and articles examining this theme in speculative fiction) Issue#8 subs are open until Jan 15.

Go to our submissions page for more information and read through our guidelines before submitting. Get writing!

Shoreline of Infinity is open for submissions

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Shoreline Issue 2 Cover 513x800Shoreline of Infinity, the newest British science fiction magazine,  is open for submissions until 31st March 2016. We’re looking for stories up to 5,000 words.

We’re  looking for a good science fiction story, something that gives reality a tweak on the nose. An idea that makes us stop and think. But don’t forget your characters: all the best stories are seen through the eyes of characters your readers believe in.

The best advice though is to read a Shoreline of Infinity for yourself to see the kind of stories we like.

Full details and submissions instructions are available on our submissions page.

Call for Submissions for issue#8: Love, Sex, Romance

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hold_fast_textLove, Sex, Romance

Space romance opera? Sex and sorcery? The Red (hot) wedding?

Call for Submissions

Deadline 15 Jan 2016

In this issue we’ll be looking at that element of the human experience that levels all barriers and spans all narratives. Desire, attraction, relationships, whether riding a horse across fantastic landscapes or spiralling through space, love almost always has a place in our most beloved speculative fiction. For this issue we want stories that explore this in some way, whether it’s horror, urban fantasy or space opera, sparks will fly. We are particularly interested in stories and articles that contain diverse relationships. Please look through the submissions guidelines for info on how to submit. (Remember we are a speculative fiction mag, so that means fantasy, SF, horror, magic realism, dystopia, and general weird stuff)

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Science Fiction short story competition

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Fish-shaped air ship

Science Fiction Short Story Competition

Sharpen your bluetooth-enabled iquill and dip into your jar of ink distilled from finest Jovian squid.

Shoreline of Infinity is running a science fiction short story competition for readers – that is, anyone who buys the magazine!

We ask you to write a story of up to 4000 words based on artwork by Dumfries artist Stephen Pickering. The prize for the best story is £80 and publication in Shoreline of Infinity.

For full details visit: Shoreline of Infinity Story Writing Competition for Readers

 Noel Chidwick,
Editor-in Chief,
Shoreline of Infinity

The A3 Review Launches 6 New Writing Contests

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issue 3We’re almost ready to put together Issue #3 of The A3 Review. There’s still time to qualify, if you enter this month’s writing contest on the theme of HANDS.

Then it’s on to Issue #4! We’ve launched the six writing contests whose winners will make up the contributors of Issue #4. You can see the six new themes if you click here.

If you’re new to The A3 Review, you can read more about the fold-out lit mag here. Basically, it’s a lit mag that behaves like a map. All contributions are under 151 words. There’s a small entry fee, and the ultimate three winners receive cash prizes; all winners are published in the magazine and receive Writing Maps.

The themes for the upcoming Writing Contests are:

  • September: TALKING ANIMALS, Deadline 26 September
  • October: THE STORY OF A GARDEN, Deadline 24 October
  • November: TABLE MANNERS, Deadline 28 November
  • December: YELLOW THINGS, Deadline 26 December
  • January: PUNISHMENT, Deadline 23 January 2016
  • February: THE HEART, Deadline 27 February 2016

Read the full details here. And sign up to The A3 Review‘s newsletter here.

The two winning entries from each month will appear in Issue #4 of The A3 Review and will constitute the shortlist. The three overall winners from the shortlist will receive prizes as follows: 1st = £150; 2nd = £75; 3rd = £50. All winning entries will receive contributor copies, Writing Maps and other goodies.

Issue#6 Gods and Monsters is out! Call for submissions for issue#7: Looking Forward Looking Back

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cover art by Faye McNulty​
Our latest issue of holdfast magazine, “Gods and Monsters“, on the themes of religion and politics in SFF is now live! We recommend opening up the gospel-themed playlist in a new tab and then settling in to take a read of all the amazing stories and articles we have for you.
We are more than thrilled to bring you this issue’s featured author interview; Lucy was lucky enough to interview the amazing Lois McMaster Bujold, author of the Vorkosigan Saga. We also have new stories in the fiction section, essays and articles in the non-fiction and cross media sections and some great book recommendations in the Bookshelf.
Also, submissions are open for issue 7: Looking Forward, Looking Back. Basically, anything that’s in any way influenced by time. This includes science fiction, dystopia, alternative history and fantasy that draws inspiration from the past. So pretty broad! Please go to our submissions page and read through our guidelines before submitting.

Writing Maps Launches 6 New Contests and a New Issue

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The A3 Review, Issue 2It’s all happening! Spring has got us sprung. We’re launching 6 new Writing Maps Writing Contests all at once AND we’re launching Issue #2 of The A3 Review.

You can read more about The A3 Review here. It’s a lit mag that behaves like a map. All contributions are under 151 words and up until now have been written in less than a week. But things are changing – we’re giving you more time to write, more time to tweak, more time to procrastinate. The next six Writing Maps Writing Contests are being launched in one go. There’s a small entry fee, and bigger cash prizes.

The themes for the upcoming Writing Contests are:

  • March: SUPERSTITIONS, Deadline 28 March
  • April: PLAYGROUND GAMES, Deadline 25 April
  • May: TEA & COFFEE, Deadline 23 May
  • June: GREEN THINGS, Deadline 27 June
  • July: JOURNEYS, Deadline 25 July
  • August: HANDS, Deadline 22 August

Read the full details here.

The two winning entries from each month will appear in Issue #3 of The A3 Review and will constitute the shortlist. The three overall winners from the shortlist will receive prizes as follows: 1st = £150; 2nd = £75; 3rd = £50. All winning entries will receive contributor copies, Writing Maps and other goodies.

Issue#4 of holdfast magazine, Diverse Reflections, is live! Plus call for submissions.

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Issue4headerIssue#4 of holdfast magazine, Diverse Reflections: Seeing yourself in speculative fiction, is now live!

We are very proud of this issue, marking a whole year of holdfast! It’s been a very exciting first year, with four issues examining different aspects of speculative fiction.

This issue is an examination of and celebration of diversity in speculative fiction. We speak to featured author Stephanie Saulter about her books, life and thoughts on diversity in our featured author interview. Read about odd, animal growths that affect a lesbian relationship, about a Cameroonian lover’s line magic, and see the preview of a new comic by Carol Hood in our fiction section. In our non fiction section, check out the first installment of a new column Rendezvous with Rare Books, a personal letter to Octavia Butler, an argument for better portrayals of trans folk, and our attempt to convert a new Unbeliever. Read a personal account of the animated series Avatar, an appreciation of the TV programme Sleepy Hollow and our liveblog of the Blade trilogy in the cross media section. And why not listen to our Afrofuturism playlist in another tab (or cosmic plane) and get some great book recommendations from The Bookshelf.
Call for Submissions: Issue#5: Of Land, Sea and Sky

Deadline: January 15 2015

In this issue we will look at the themes of location and landscape in speculative fiction. Interpret this how you wish – it includes urban fantasy, rural epics, alien terrains, creatures of the deep, exploration, psychogeography, eco-apocalypse and anything else where a sense of place, whether in this world or another, is important to the text.

Have a read through our guidelines and email submissions@holdfastmagazine.com

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Holdfast Print Anthology and Call For Submissions!

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Holdfast magazine has launched a fundraising campaign for our first ever print anthology. Click here to visit our fundraiser page and view the awesome prizes on offer, including signed books by Frances Hardinge, Emma Newman and Stephanie Salter, holdfast logo tote bags, and much more.

The holdfast anthology will be a beautiful artefact, comprised of new unpublished fiction, and some of the best articles from our online magazine, all in one, gorgeous volume.

Holdfast is a free, online speculative fiction magazine (that means science fiction, fantasy, horror and all the stuff that falls between) that celebrates and examines these amazing genres.

Read about a time-travelling law enforcer making a difficult choice, a cursed cycling tour that goes hopelessly and hilariously wrong, and what happens when the drugs don’t work on Sleeping Beauty in our fiction section. Discover what shark brains look like (spoiler: a human uterus), find out about the underrepresentation of Black women in science fiction, read a thank you letter to Margaret Atwood, and witness our attempts to convert a literary snob over to SFF in our non-fiction section.

Holdfast exists because of the wonderful writers and artists that contribute their time, effort and creativity for free. We want to recognise that writing and illustrating is work, and deserves to be rewarded.

So by supporting our anthology, not only will you be getting awesome stories, fascinating articles and fun prizes, you will also be supporting our wonderful contributors, without whom holdfast would not exist. All profits made will go directly to the writers and illustrators whose hard work and creativity fill the pages of holdfast, split equally for each contribution.

So go to our fundraiser, and become a part of the holdfast team!

We also need your stories for our next issue!

Issue#4 Diverse Reflections: Seeing Yourself in Speculative Fiction

 Deadline for online issue: September 21 2014

 In this issue we will look at people who aren’t represented in speculative fiction as much as they should be. For example, people of colour, lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, and people with disabilities. Everyone should be able to see themselves reflected in their world, including SFF fans. It seems, however, that much like other media, this just isn’t the case. We’re looking for submissions on this theme to be included in Issue#4.

Go to our submissions page for further information.

Email submissions@holdfastmagazine.com with ‘Diversity fiction’ in the subject line with your submission. Please take the time to read through our submission guidelines before submitting.

Up Now: Bonus Free Fiction and Fantasy Sharks!

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Illustration for ‘Foot Hoof Paw’ by Mat Andrew

Whilst holdfast is a quarterly speculative fiction magazine, we also have bonus articles and fiction going up each month.

 

New and up now:

Bonus story ‘Foot Hoof Paw’ by D.B Brodie, a view of the apocalypse from three very different points of view.

And have a look at this month’s bonus article ‘The Fantasy Shark’ by Alice Sanders that explores sharks in film, from the scary to the ridiculous. Did you know shark brains strongly resemble the human uterus?!

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Join our mailing list to get updates on when we post each bonus piece.

Submissions open for our print anthology and issues 3&4 now! Deadline for anthology 15th June 2014.

Holdfast Print Anthology Call For Submissions

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We are excited to announce our call for submissions for our first ever print anthology!

Deadline 15th June 2014

Contact: submissions@holdfastmagazine.com

Holdfast is a free online speculative fiction magazine that explores all things fantastic.

Each issue of Holdfast is centred around a specific theme. For the anthology we are looking for fiction and non-fiction on all four themes from our first year:

Speculating on Speculative Women

Animals, Beasts and Creatures

Objects, Artefacts and Talismans

Diverse Reflections: Seeing Yourself in Speculative Fiction.

It has been an incredibly exciting six months for us at Holdfast. Issues 1&2 are out, and we have been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement that we have received from the speculative community, especially when it comes to our amazing contributors. One thing that has become increasingly clear is that if we want to offer even a small payment, (which, please believe me, is a major priority) we cannot rely on donations and advertising alone; we are going to have to rack our brains and actively make some money.

And so, we will be launching a Kickstarter over the summer, with the aim of producing an anthology compiling all the year’s themes. This will include some of the best fiction and non-fiction we have already published, but also a whole bunch of new stuff. And this is where you come in! We are now accepting submissions for short stories and articles from all four themes. These are listed above.

If you are submitting specifically for the anthology, please put ‘Anthology’ specifying the theme and submission type. For example: ‘Anthology, Animals Beasts and Creatures, Fiction.’ Send to submissions@holdfastmagazine.com

The deadline for submissions is June 15 2014.

The online issue deadlines still apply, so if you want to get your story into issue#3, Objects, Artefacts and Talismans, please still submit by the 31 May 2014 (all submissions will also be considered for the Anthology). However if you miss the issue#3 deadline, you will still have 15 days to submit to the Anthology deadline on the 15 June 2014. Additionally, if you miss the Anthology deadline, you will have until September 21 2014 to submit to Issue#4, Diverse Reflections: Seeing yourself in Speculative Fiction, for the online version.

And if we don’t make our Kickstarter target, we are determined to produce it as an ebook. So, either way, we will be showcasing your wonderful contributions.

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Holdfast call for submissions and issue#2

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Issue#2: Animals, Beasts & Creatures is out now at www.holdfastmag.com 

Holdfast is a free, quarterly, online speculative fiction magazine that explores all things fantastic.

In this issue we explore speculative fiction’s relationship to our furred, scaled and feathered friends. From the hearths of our ancestors, who told tales to ward off the night that teemed with hostile beasties, to modern fiction, we have woven these companions into our myths, our legends, and our stories.

Read of god-challenging goats, horrifying dogs, earthshaking bulls and murderous blackbirds in our fiction section. Discover amazing writers with our bite-sized reviews of recommended reading on our bookshelf, and read our featured author interview with Sarah Pinborough. Explore humanity’s bond with wild creatures in the work of Robin Hobb, witness our attempt at conversion of a fantasy hater in the Unbelievers, and learn about the huge impact birds have had on speculative fiction in our non-fiction section. Find out about the insect fairies of Tessa Farmer and read a round up of dragons in Cross Media. All whilst listening to our Beasts playlist to get you in the mood.

We are now open for submissions for issue#3 Objects, Artefacts and Talismans. We are looking for fiction, articles and illustrators. Go to our submissions page for more information.

Contact us at: submissions@holdfastmagazine.com www.facebook.com/holdfastmag  @holdfastmag

Holdfast Magazine Call for submissions

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ImageWe are now accepting submissions for Issue#2: Animals, Beasts & Creatures. Are you fascinated by what lurks within and what hides in the shadows? We look at the relationship between speculative fiction and animals, whether talking badgers or fire-breathing dragons.

Deadline for fiction and poetry January 20 2014. Go to our submissions page for more information. For any queries not covered please contact us at submissions@holdfastmagazine.com

Issue#1: Speculating about Speculative Women is out now at www.holdfastmagazine.com

“In an age when book blogs and eZines seem to crop up every twenty three and a half minutes, Holdfast has done it right – interesting features, diverting fiction, music and literary challenges – and that’s just in the first issue! I for one can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”

– Lee Harris, Senior Editor, Angry Robot and former Publisher of Hub Magazine.

Read speculative fiction, poetry, interviews, articles, reviews and other oddments all whilst listening to our fantasy playlist. Take part in co-authoring a story with featured author Emma Newman in our Story Chain. Discover what’s making Emma Newman angry, read Eva Kerslake-Blue’s short story Mirror, Mirror (and then read her bio!), peruse books written and inhabited by speculative women on our Bookshelf, and find out about the underrepresentation of Black women in science fiction.

Each issue revolves around a central theme, examining genre fiction through focussed articles, fiction and reviews. Linked to this is each issue’s interview with a featured author, whose writing connects to the issue’s topic. Regular features include The Unbelievers, in which our two heroic editors attempt to convert self-confessed fantasy haters, a themed playlist that gives readers a suitable atmosphere in which to browse, and A Letter To… tells an author how influential and inspiring they are.

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 Illustration by Zoe Ann Lee for poem ‘The Crown’ by Rebecca Manser

@holdfastmag http://www.facebook/holdfastmag submissions@holdfastmagazine.com

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