Tab 1

— Ghost Lights: “Next year’s entry in the acclaimed ‘ABC of Horror’ series will be called Ghost Lights, and as ever, I’m looking for stories that are as disturbing, strange, and original as you can make them. I’m not averse to humour, and neither am I averse to horror tropes like zombies, vampires, and serial killers. But if you are going to write stories with such familiar, tried-and-trusted elements, then you need to find a new and unique way of presenting them. I want to be surprised and scared by your stories, and I want them to be populated by characters who are both believable and identifiable (even the evil ones). Your stories can be anything from 2,000-8,000 words, though the sweet spot is around the 4,000-5,000 word mark.” They do not want reprints for this anthology, deadline 14 November 2025.
Deadlines: See above
Length: See above
Pay: $0.08/word for originals, $0.06/word for reprints
Details here (all Flame Tree fiction calls are announced on this blog; see the links above for individual calls).

Eldritch Cat Press: The Lantern Keepers
This is a fiction anthology. “We’re looking for tales that include characters who serve as guides, guardians, or messengers between the threshold of the living and the dead, lost or otherworldly. We want stories with haunting, dreadful, eerie, creeping or even sorrowful vibes”. And, “Your story must feature a light, a path and a guide of some kind (the more prevalent and central to the plot these three things are the better, but be creative with them!)”. The genres they want are: Horror, gothic, dark fantasy, paranormal, magical realism, mystery, crime…pretty much anything goes, even sci-fi, high fantasy, post-apoc and various time periods.
Deadline: 1 December 2025
Length: 1,500-4,500 words
Pay: $10
Details here.


Dreamforge: Open Channel – The Art of Connection
They are open for speculative fiction submissions. They also accept poetry. They will read until the submission deadline, or until they meet their submission quota, whichever is earlier. Their theme for this year is, ‘Open Channel: The Art of Connection’ (see their submission system for details on the theme). “DreamForge Magazine celebrates connecting with the other. It shows how understanding can solve problems that seem impossible, and how communication and empathy—even in surprising ways—can help us through hard times.
Of course, core theme stories are always welcome too. Stories of “endurance, hope, and the triumph of the human spirit.” Stories that actively resist despair and offer constructive alternatives to dystopian futures, focusing on what builds rather than what destroys.”
Deadline: 31 December 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 7,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here

DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker – Van Helsing
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about the magazine here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on Van Helsing. “The one you’ve all been waiting for.
Doctor. Professor. Lawyer. Monster hunter.
Abraham Van Helsing has become a legend—but how did he get there?
What shaped the man who would face Dracula? What monsters, mysteries, or miracles did he encounter before the novel—and what haunted him after? We want your tales of the world’s most famous vampire hunter: his triumphs, his obsessions, his failures, and his legacy.”
Deadline: 31 December 2025
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.

THEMED CONTESTS

(There are some unthemed contests open now, as well, including:
— Polar Expressions: Student Contests for Short Story and Poetry: These are short story and poetry contests for Canadian students who are citizens and residents, from kindergarten to grade 12. Poems should be up to 32 lines and stories up to 450 words, on any topic; first prizes of CAD60-100 for students of various grades, as well as second and third prizes; additional cash prizes for schools; deadlines: 21 November 2025 for both, short stories and for poetry; details here.

— PEN/Robert J Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers: For 12 emerging fiction writers for their debut short story published during a given calendar year in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website; submitted stories must be published in the calendar year prior to the corresponding awards ceremony; prizes $2,000 each, deadline: 25 November 2025, details here and here.

— ServiceScape Short Story Award: Submit a work of short fiction or nonfiction, 5,000 words or fewer; award $1,000, deadline: 30 November 2025, details here.

— The Hudson Review Short Fiction Contest: For a short story of up to 10,000 words; writers who have never published in The Hudson Review are eligible to submit; awards $1,000; and $500 each for second and third places; deadline: 30 November 2025; details here.