Submissions Open September 1
About Superheroes, Super Problems
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... my alarm clock. Being super means dealing with super problems, as well as mundane ones. Superheroes, Super Problems is an original anthology exploring the balance between the extraordinary responsibility of being a superhero and the ordinary struggles of human existence…and the limitations of Spandex.
From Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Moses to Superman, Batman, and the Incredibles, characters with superpowers are as old as storytelling. Behind every hero stands a great villain, and let’s not forget about their minions, not to mention the civilians living in a world where superheroes cause traffic jams and flight delays. We love their powers, but we want to know their problems. The cape is no escape—it’s a trap.
Imagine a superhero has been battling villains all day long, but his kids refuse to eat the dinner he made. Or a gloating villain returns to her lair only to find her chihuahua has chewed through the cord to her death laser.
Superhuman strength can’t save a hero’s child from cancer. Superpowers won’t make someone immune to prejudice or fanaticism. Perhaps the world’s greatest defender is accused of a hideous crime, or struggling with the pain of a divorce behind the mask. A seemingly well-organized hero might be battling addiction, and saving his city is the only escape he knows. As their superpowers fade, a hero may need a service animal. Your hero could be caring for an aging supervillain parent or struggling to open up in therapy while hiding their secret identity.
As you create your own superheroes, we not only want to know their powers, but how they juggle life. Show us that the only superpower that matters is humanity.
We’re looking for stories from a wide variety of genres, from science fiction to horror and from fantasy to romance, as long as there is a superhero integral to the story. The main character doesn’t have to possess powers, and could even be the super villain.
Humor is welcome, as are darker themes, but please keep your stories appropriate for a PG-13 audience. Your story must contain ORIGINAL characters and no copyrighted material—that means no Superman, Batman, Spider Man, Wonder Woman, or any other existing intellectual property. We’re looking for original stories, not lawsuits.
BANG! POW! Saving the world is easy. Monday morning is hard.
Edited by Kevin J. Anderson and Allyson Longueira with an editorial team provided by Western Colorado University Graduate Program in Creative Writing, Publishing MA students. Anthology made possible by generous contributions from Draft2Digital, Reedsy, and BookFunnel.
Submission Guidelines for
Superheroes, Super Problems
Please read the guidelines carefully.
Genre: Original fiction and poetry in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, suspense, humor, and romance, appropriate for up to a “PG-13” audience. Superheroes or super powers must be central to the story. Diverse cultures and non-traditional legends and persons welcomed.
ABSOLUTELY NO copyrighted characters or worlds. Original stories only that have never been published in any format.
Length: up to 5000 words (firm limit)
Rate: 8¢/word on acceptance.
Rights: First Anthology Rights, print, ebook, and audiobook. Rights revert to author one month after publication; publisher retains non-exclusive rights to include the story in the anthology as a whole.
Due: We are open to submissions from September 1 through October 15, 2026. Final acceptances or rejections will be made by December 2026.
Submit: A Microsoft Word or RTF file in standard manuscript format to THIS LINK. If you don’t know what standard manuscript format is, review (for example) Basic Manuscript Format. Submissions not in standard manuscript format may be rejected without being read.
One story or poem submitted per person, please. And NO Simultaneous Submissions—that means, if you send a story to us, DO NOT send it to another publication at the same time. If it is currently under submission somewhere else, DO NOT send it to us.
AI Policy: AI offers tools that many writers find useful, but YOU MUST WRITE YOUR OWN STORY. Your work cannot contain an appreciable amount of AI-generated content and must be fully copyrightable, per the US Copyright Office. You will be required to attest to this in the submission process. For guidance, see Amazon’s rules on the subject HERE.
If you want to increase your chances and avoid mistakes, please read Slushpile Memories: How NOT to Get Rejected by Kevin J. Anderson