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- Video - Author and RYA instructor KC Grifant answers the question, "Why Write A Short Story" (and why NOT to).
- Markets and contests with submissions open or opening soon.
- November 14 - Sellable Short Stories: What Editors Want (And What To Avoid) led by award-winning author, KC Grifant. Discount code!
- Care to drabble with us? Each week our drabble community writes 100 words (or they don't—their call) to a single-word prompt.
- NEW newsletter segment: This Week's Prompt. An interesting item from the news to provide you with fodder for your creativity. This week, get your "warmer and more intimate" humanoid robot in 2026.
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Markets and Contests
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Many thanks to Scribophile for sponsoring this week's open submissions. Scribophile is a free welcoming community of writers where you're guaranteed to get solid critiques on your work. You can also get 20% off your first purchase using coupon code APEX20.
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- ⚡️Electric Lit Time to polish up your essays! Electric Literature will open for submissions in ✨Personal Narrative✨ on Monday, December 1! All submissions will be accepted through our Submittable page. Portal closes at 11:59 PM PST on Sunday, December 14, or when they receive 500 submissions. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🥀 Flame Tree Publishing is looking for gothic romantasy stories for two upcoming anthologies: Of Blood & Petals and The Tarot of Love. If you have a story between 2,000 and 4,000 words that fits the vibe, submit it before November 10th. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🔥 The Forge Literary Magazine is open to submissions of short fiction and creative nonfiction of up to 3,500 words. They have a limited number of free submission slots, so submit early in the month to avoid the fee. 💰Paying market!💰
- 🌬️ Kissed by the Elements is a forthcoming anthology of romance that engages with the greats outdoors. This is a PG-13 anthology, so save your steam for next time. Send them work between 3,000 and 5,000 word before November 15th. They accept international submissions, but will prioritise Canadian writers. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🔮 Sorry Not Sorry is open to submissions of short stories and essays to be read aloud on their podcast. The theme for this window is “Finding Meaning in Times of Strife”, and selected writers will be invited for an on-air interview with host Alyssa Milano of Charmed fame. Send them work between 2,000 and 5,000 words before November 15th. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 📖 One Story is open to submissions of short stories between 3,000 and 8,000 words for standalone publication. They’ll close once they reach a maximum number of submissions, so don’t delay. No submissions fee! 💰Paying market!💰
- 🔔 The Manchester Cathedral Poetry Competition is open to entries of poetry on the theme of “Bells”. The writer of the best poem receives £200. Note that the first entry is free; subsequent entries require a fee. Send them poems of up to 30 lines before November 14th. No submissions fee! 💰 Paying market! 💰
- 📚 One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins, is open to direct submissions of genre fiction novels including romance, historical, horror, and more. Send them a short pitch, synopsis, and full manuscript. No submissions fee! 💰 Paying market! 💰
- 🧟♀️ Tartarus Press is open to submissions of literary horror and supernatural short story collections. They prefer finished manuscripts to be between 75,000 and 120,000 words. Send them a query letter and up to three sample stories. No submissions fee! 💰 Paying market! 💰
- 📕 Bancroft Press is open to submissions of full-length fiction and nonfiction work. Unusually, they accept works in progress as well as complete manuscripts. Send them a full manuscript (or as much as you’ve written and polished) and a query letter. No submissions fee! 💰 Paying market! 💰
- 🍭 Candy Jar Books is open to submissions of middle grade and young adult fiction. Send them a query letter, synopsis, and the first three chapters. No submissions fee! 💰 Paying market! 💰
- ❄️ Sublimation is open to submissions of poetry on the theme of “Let it Snow”. Send them up to five poems before November 15th. No submissions fee!
- 🚨 Headlight Anthology is open to submissions of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Send them up to 4,000 words of prose writing or up to four poems before November 14th. No submissions fee!
- 🏡 The Interpreter’s House is open to submissions of short stories of up to 3,000 words, or up to two poems, until November 14th. No submissions fee!
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Out of hundreds of stories in the slush pile, what makes an editor say “yes” to just a few?
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Learn what elements you can control (and which you can’t) to maximize your chances of publication. Ideal for writers of horror, sci-fi and fantasy genres, this workshop offers insights on how to rise above the slush pile and grab an editor’s attention while staying true to your story.
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You’ll learn what red flags can garner instant rejections from editors, practical techniques for honing your tales, and efficient strategies for submitting to markets.
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- A behind-the-scenes, detailed look at the selection process from slush pile to publication from an editor’s point of view
- Common and not-so-common pitfalls in openings and endings, and how to fix them
- How to use—and subvert—familiar genre tropes to make your work stand out
- Efficient techniques for self-editing
- A deep dive into trending markets and industry best practices
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You’ll walk away with practical tools to elevate your short fiction, as well as a roadmap for getting your work into magazines, anthologies, podcasts and more.
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Each week our drabble community writes 100 words (or they don't—their call) to a single-word prompt. No fame. No fortune. Just fun. Well, maybe a teensy bit of fame if you count the animated adaptations we create and share on social media. Check 'em out on our YouTube channel and Bluesky.
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This Week's Prompt
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"Instead of following the more traditionally male aesthetic seen in models from companies like Neura, Xpeng introduced a curvier, more feminine form — arguably more curves than a robot needs... its new robot features full-body synthetic skin intended to make it feel "warmer and more intimate... allows users to customize its appearance by choosing its color, even though Xpeng goes further by offering different body types (chubby, athletic, tall, or short), hair styles, and, in the future, even clothing."
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Thank you so much for being a newsletter subscriber. We love our supportive, weird, and wonderful community. Don't hesitate to reply to this email if you have something to tell us. I read every email and will respond.
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