Submissions are OPEN.

Submissions will remain open until December 1, 2026.

We are looking for approximately sixteen stories to fill each of these themed anthologies. We are LBGTQ+ friendly, both to authors and in subject matter, but also straight friendly. We like quirky, imaginative stories. Humor, tragic, thought-provoking, happily entertaining, romantic, surprise us. Just stay on theme and have a speculative element in the story.

TL:DR Guidelines: Short stories. Standard MS format. Important details in email. Title of email needs to include your last name, story title, and anthology you are submitting to. New or reprints equally accepted. Payment is $5 a story, plus $0.05 royalties. For more details, see full guidelines below. Send your story to submissions@deadfishbooks.com

Did I Leave the Gas On: Tales of Coming Home

You've fought the good fight, saved the world, finished the impossible journey, and come back to find... What did you forget to do before leaving? What are you returning to? Or perhaps you haven't finished the fight, but are right in the thick of things when you remember... We are looking for fun or sad or heroic stories, fantasy or science fiction or horror, all based around the idea of what awaits the weary adventurer.

Screw Dem Space Horses: Equine Stories Across Space and Time

Space horses. Fantasy horses. Mythological horse-shaped or horse-adjacent creatures. Heroic horses. Evil horses. Unappreciated side-kick horses. We are looking for speculative fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, or any mixture of these) where a horse or horse-adjacent creature is an integral part of the plot. Surprise us!

Guidelines (common sense guidelines, but stated as clearly as we can):

0) Preferred length is between 2000-6000 words. Yes, we will read and buy outside these values, but the type of story we are looking for generally falls in that length. We are looking for characters that seem real, unusual ideas, and complete plots. There must be a speculative element that is integral to the plot. And we want a finished story, not one in progress.

1) Submit your story as an *.rtf or *.doc or *.docx file attached to your cover letter.

1.5) Black ink. White background. A font that is easy for half-blind people to read, such as Courier, Times New Roman, or whatever Word uses for its default font. If we remember your manuscript for it's, ah, creative formatting, it will not be in a good way. Violating this particular rule will be considered consent for allowing us to post photos of it online.

2) We prefer one-inch margins, double-spaced text.

3) Please do not use tabs. Please use the paragraph formatting tool to indent the paragraphs, and either use CENTER to place your section dividers, or just leave them on the left side.

4) Please, no page numbers or other headers or footers on the pages. They are an extra step to remove.

5) If you want to make sure that your italics end up in the final draft, mark them with an underscore before and after.

6) On the first page, in the upper left hand corner, put your legal (the one you use for contracts) name, address, and email.

7) Below the title, put the name that you want the story to appear under. Use either your real name or a pen name. If you use a pen name, please, please, please note this in the cover letter, especially if it is a subtle change from your legal name.

8) On the subject line of the email, write “(anthology):(your title)(your last name)

9) In the cover email, write your preferred name(and pronouns if you wish), legal name, your pen name if used, your contact email, the approximate word count, your payment information (paypal address or request for paper check, etc.) and anything else you want us to know. Please note if this story is unpublished or previously published. If previously published, please give us the bibliographic information. {Name of journal, anthology, or website, journal number (if applicable) publisher, and date of publication.} We keep these cover letters and refer back to them during the publication process. Having everything in one place makes it much easier for us to concentrate on things such as getting your money to you.

10) Email it to submissions@deadfishbooks.com

11) No multiple submissions–please submit only one story (per anthology) at a time. If we reject your story, you may send another. Stories returned for submission errors may be resubmitted when those are corrected. Stories returned with a request for a rewrite may be resubmitted.

12) Submitting to more than one market: We can’t stop you from doing that, but if the story is accepted by another market or if a market you prefer shows interest, please, please, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can take your story out of consideration or make other arrangements. It is possible that your story could still be accepted as a reprint, depending on the terms of your contract with the other market.

13) The deadline is the deadline. All submissions AND rewrites must be to us by the deadline.

14) Final decisions will be made after the deadline.

15) Editors’ decisions are FINAL. Arguing with us will not get your story published, but it will get us pissed at you.

16) Address any questions to Helen@deadfishbooks.com

17) At the bottom of your cover letter, before your signature, write, “There are no green M&Ms in this manuscript.” Put this in even if there are green M&M’s in your manuscript.