As they put it, “At the core of our company, we have two primary objectives. The first is to provide a superior erotic reading experience. The second is to create a community of happy and successful authors, and this includes recognizing and celebrating an author’s success outside of their work with Deep Desires Press.”

For this reason they don’t have restrictive clauses on their contract like many other romance and erotica publishers, like the right of first refusal.

The website is well laid out, with a thorough and helpful FAQ section.

They make it clear that all books they publish will receive full editing, including one round by a developmental editor and another pass by a proofreader. They will promote work on social media and in their newsletter, but most of the promotion is up to the author and when submitting you must include at least two social media links.

The covers for the genre are much better than expected and I like how they really feel different than each other, and many stand out.

You can read their full submission guidelines here. Only submit if you feel like your work is a good fit.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.

Montana Mouthful publishes three issues each year. They offer a free digital edition, as well as a print on demand hardcopy journal. Each issue contains work from around 30 contributors. You can read the digital edition online to get a sense of their style.

Each edition of Montana Mouthful is themed. Right now through May 3, they’re seeking submissions on the theme, “A Blessing in Disguise.” They’ll publish this themed issue on June 7.

Authors may submit up to two short stories, essays, or works of narrative nonfiction, 2,000 words or fewer. Montana Mouthful also accepts flash fiction, up to two pieces, 1,000 words or fewer. Poets may submit up to three pieces, 1,000 words or fewer. Submitting authors can expect a response within 10 weeks.

Montana Mouthful reads submissions blind, making them a great venue for unpublished authors. Submitting authors should take care not to include any identifying information on submitted writing.

Montana Mouthful accepts submissions via Submittable, not by email or post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work.

Montana Mouthful only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Montana Mouthful, please visit their website here.

Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.

Translunar Travelers Lounge
The editors of this speculative fiction magazine want fun stories. Their guidelines say, “A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.” Also, “Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.”
Deadline: 15 April 2021
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word ($20 minimum)
Details here.

Narrative Magazine
They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, audio poetry and prose, and video (short films/documentaries). They usually charge for submissions but during the first two weeks of April, they have an open reading period, for general submissions made specifically to the Open Reading category via their submissions page. Please select Open Reading Period 2021 from the drop down menu.
Deadline: 15 April 2021
Length: Varies (see guidelines)
Pay: $50 (poetry) to $1,000 (for manuscripts up to 15,000 words)
Details here.

Uncanny Magazine: Novella submissions
Uncanny, an award-winning speculative fiction magazine, is open for novella submissions in April. They publish “passionate, diverse SF/F” from writers of all backgrounds. “We want intricate, experimental stories … with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs”, according to their guidelines.
Deadline: 30 April 2020
Length: 17,500-40,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

Grain Magazine
This literary magazine accepts work from Canadian and other writers around the world. They publish fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry that is “engaging, surprising, eclectic, and challenging”, according to their guidelines. Queries for submissions of work in other forms (i.e. short plays, comics, etc.) are welcome. They also pay for visual art. They can only accept a limited number of submissions per month via Submittable during their reading period, so it is best to submit early. Once this cap is reached, writers can still post their submissions, or wait for the 1^st of next month to submit via the online system.
Deadline: 15 May 2021
Length: Up to 3,500 words for prose; up to 6 pages for poetry
Pay: CAD50/page, up to CAD250
Details here.

LampLight
This is a magazine of dark fiction, both short stories and flash fiction. They want work that is dark, literary — creepy, weird, and unsettling. Their guidelines say, “No specific sub-genres or themes, just good stories. For inspiration, we suggest “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”,” – and also the first volume of their stories. They do not want work about vampires, zombies, werewolves, serial killers, hitmen, excessive gore or sex. They also accept reprints. They can accept only 300 submissions a month during their reading period, so it is best to submit early during the month through their reading period.
Deadline: 15 May 2021
Length: Up to 7,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word, up to $150
Details here (guidelines) and here (Submittable).
(A horror market, for teenage writers only, is Cemetery Gates Media’s Generation Dread anthology. They want horror fiction of 1,500-3,000 words. The deadline is 1 June, and pay is a scholarship of $100.)   

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.

Savvy, enterprising writers look for publishing opportunities all over the place, and there are always opportunities for writing letters to editors. While it’s rare to receive monetary payment for this sort of writing, there are many reasons to undertake this exercise.

Newspapers, magazines, journals — either online or in-print — offer many placements for letter writing. Just months after my college graduation, one of my letters was printed in the venerable New York Daily News. They have published many more of my letters, as have the New York Times, Newsday, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and a few local publications. Writing letters (and seeing them published) is a very good avenue for me to express opinions on timely and evergreen topics, either serious or light-hearted. Each year thousands of people, most not professional writers but others who are (and even celebrities), have their letters to the editor read by John and Jane Q. Public.

If you experience Writer’s Block, writing a letter to the editor is a good way to push past it. It’s similar to working on a writing prompt. It helps if you tackle a subject or issue about which you’re passionate, or at least have a strong opinion. Are you unhappy about something going in the news? Is your favorite sports team making a bad move? Are critics panning the movie you dearly enjoyed? Is a certain government policy a terrible decision? Find your topic, and address it.

Your letter might also be a response to a piece that ran in a particular publication or on a website. But don’t just write a letter that says “I agree” or “I disagree”: have credible reasons for your stance, and take it a step further by offering examples or a kind of sidebar to the original article or topic.

Before writing a letter, figure out to whom you will send it. Read the letters section of a few major newspapers and magazines. You want to compose and edit your letter so that it is a good fit for a particular audience, and you want to express your opinion strongly. If most of the letters on a particular website or publication are succinct, then tailor your letter that way as well. If most of the letters are from professionals in a particular field, then you should belong to that cohort.You want to reach the readers.

Writing letters that are more likely to be selected for a particular publication also strengthens your skills in proofreading, editing, and even marketing your output. Think about how to craft your letter so that it is tighter, stronger, incisive. Read it aloud. Not only does this help you compose a better letter, it helps you write better short stories, or articles, or essays, or haiku.

Remember that you are writing for a more or less defined audience, and the editors of their letter sections know what their readers want. If you take the attitude that “My letter should be printed, even if it’s different from most of the others they publish,” then your work is more than likely to be passed over. Often it’s not the opinion expressed that the editors don’t like, but the style, the length, the overall shape of the letter. Just as the letters editor is a gatekeeper of sorts, so is the editor to whom you send your articles or stories, or the editor or agent to whom you direct your manuscript..

And just because you’ve written a letter and pushed Send, doesn’t mean that it will be published. That can be disappointing; but it’s the kind of disappointment that nearly every writer will face at some point (or points) in their careers. Writers should develop a thick skin to guard against rejection, because it’s inevitable. Take rejection in your stride, and get back to work. 

If your letter is published, be prepared for people to praise it or pan it. When your letter runs in a well- known newspaper or magazine, you’re bound to find someone you know who noticed it.

This can be an ego boost, or it can make you cringe; but your name is out there with a de facto byline. Certainly this is helpful for nonfiction writers, but fiction writers and poets can also benefit from a bit of name recognition. These days many writers post these letters on their social media accounts, for added exposure.

It’s possible for a letter writer to turn a published letter (or even an unpublished letter) into a lengthier written piece, a short story, or perhaps even the inspiration for a book. If you do so, you might place the actual letter at the start of the project, and refer back to it intermittently. The letter (or letters) can be turned into poems; into catalysts for short stories; expanded into nonfiction articles; perhaps even built into a book, be it a novel or a nonfiction work. If you go this rather ambitious route, it might help to print out the letter (or clip it out of the newspaper or magazine) and place it in the center of your table or on a bulletin board. Then write notes in response, or ideas for chapters, or sketches of characters whom you build around this letter.

Pop singer Kesha sang “Letters to the Editor,” and Thievery Corporation performed “Letter to the Editor.” Perhaps your letter can be turned into a hit song! There are nonfiction anthologies that collect letters to the editor of particular newspapers. Letters to the editor are found in biographical works. Search “Letters to the Editor” and you’ll find a handful of book titles. (If you write a book like that, change up the name a bit. Differentiate.)

Your letter to the editor might influence many people; it could inspire laughs. It can be the start of a much bigger project, or stand as a one-time spark of creativity.

Bio: Ellen Levitt is a writer and teacher, and a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of The Lost Synagogues of Brooklyn, The Lost Synagogues of the Bronx and Queens, and The Lost Synagogues of Manhattan (www.avotaynu.com) and Walking Manhattan (www.wildernesspress.com) . She has also written many freelance articles and essays for online and in-print publications.

We selected the recipient of the fund using a random number generator. We are announcing the winners of both the March and April fund today.

Thank you to everyone who has applied.

Journals who have already submitted themselves for consideration will be considered in future draws as well. There is no need to resubmit.

The Shoutflower is a print journal of writing and art and the seventh winner of our fund. They are currently closed to submissions but ask that authors check back in May.

This is how they describe themselves “The Shoutflower is a vision of gritty romance. We believe that art should be beautiful, but not quietly beautiful. We believe in beauty that screams.”

The eighth winner of the fund is The Iman Collective, which publishes works that explore the Muslim identity, works that explore Islamic issues or the lives of Muslims. Their submission for issue 3 opens on April 13. They will be accepting fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction works.

The Iman Collective is a project of The Muslim Write Initiative whose mission is ‘to publish and promote literature and texts that are inclusive to Muslim readers without misrepresentation or stereotype.”

There are currently fourteen literary journals on the application list, so if you run a journal that needs funding, don’t hesitate to apply. If you know of a journal that needs funding, please encourage the editor(s) to apply for the funding.

We will select our ninth recipient in May.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.