Gather up your paper and inks, partner! Weird West calls and anthologies pop up not infrequently. Check out the list below for a roundup of calls (magazines/anthologies/etc.) seeking stories, updated quarterly.
Bookmark this page and check in often, as updates are constantly added.
*Please note I am not associated with any of these calls; questions should be directed to the editor or contact in the link.*
Last updated: March 2024
COWBOY UP
Submission Period: March 1- July 31
Title: Cowboy Up (Editor: Carol Hightshoe)
Word count: 2500-7500
Type: Stories that feature a rodeo
Call description:
Stories can be in any genre as long as the sport of Rodeo is a key part of the story.
Stories must revolve around the sport, the riders or the animal athletes involved in Rodeo and while being realistic to the sport must also portray it in a favorable light. We do hope to receive stories that cover all of the events in Rodeo: Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bull Riding, Tie-Down Roping, Steer Wresting, Team Roping, Steer Roping, Barrel Racing and Ladies Breakaway Roping. Stories can also feature Bull Fighters, Barrel Men, Pick Up Men, the medical teams (human and veterinarian) – or anyone involved in the sport.
Compensation: $20
Website for more information: https://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/cowboy-up-guidelines
Undertaker Books Looking for Western Novella
Submission Period: Closes April 10, 2024
Call Description:
Undertaker Books is seeking a novella for publication in August of 2024.
Our editors are looking for a work between 15,000 and 30,000 words, preferably in the Horror Western or Historical Horror subgenres, but they will consider all submissions. The editor is not opposed to blood, gore, or erotic elements, but draws the line at animal abuse and depictions of sexual assault against children.
We are not accepting reprints at this time. For more details on our submission guidelines, please CLICK HERE.
Payment will be 50% of distribution payouts through our distribution channels.
Submit a cover letter that includes your name, pen name, word count, and a brief bio along with a one page synopsis and the first twenty pages of your manuscript (in Modern Shunn format) to submissions@undertakerbooks.com. Please title your email “Novella-[Your Last Name].”
This call will close on April 10, 2024.
Link for more information: https://www.undertakerbooks.com/calling-western-horror-writers/
ARCHIVE OF PAST CALLS
DEADLINE PASSED – Zehlreg Augustus Grindstone’s Spectacular Western Oddity Emporium
Call Description:
Step right up, ladies & gents, boys & girls, elves, orcs, dwarves, & every other languaged being, to Zehlreg Augustus Grindstone’s Spectacular Western Oddity Emporium! We are accepting short stories, flash fiction, and poetry submissions for publication in a magnificent anthology where the Wild West meets the vast worlds of Fantasy! There will be a crowdfunding campaign to enable us to pay all contributors, and selected pieces will appear in a print and digital anthology in October 2024.
Submissions are open January 6 – March 31, 2024. The editors will be evaluating pieces as they are submitted to enable rapid announcement of successful submissions shortly after submissions close. The crowdfunding campaign will go live in early-May.
Website for more information: https://the-hyperion-tales.com
Weird West Fiction 