Deadline: September 15, 2014
Payment: Royalties

Ah, childhood. A time of innocence, wonder…and unbridled terror. Childhood fears. We all had them. Maybe it was clowns. A particular toy. Something under the bed? Or that creepy house at the end of the block. Admit it, there was something that scared you. (Or someone you knew.)

I’m thrilled to announce an open call for submissions for a new, yet-to-be-titled fall 2015 horror anthology based on childhood fears.

I’m open to supernatural or non-supernatural, historical or contemporary novellas. You can use ghosts, scary Santas, dark closets, vampires, homicidal maniacs, or almost anything your imagination can create. The main characters don’t necessarily have to be children anymore, but if they’re adults, they should be facing a fear from their childhood.

The novellas must range between 25,000 to 30,000 words in length. Please note, only manuscripts that fall in this word count will be considered. Each selected novella will be released individually as an ebook in spring 2015 and together in print approximately six months later.

Submissions are open to all authors, published with Samhain or aspiring to be published with Samhain. All submissions must be new, original material—previously published submissions will not be considered. Previously submitted manuscripts will not be considered either. Be aware that manuscripts submitted for this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from the editor.

Please note: this is for the Samhain Horror line, not Romance. While a romantic subplot or element is fine, the main focus of the novella must be horror.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include:

The full manuscript (of 25,000 to 30,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Also include a letter of introduction/query letter.

As well, when you send your manuscript, be sure to use the naming convention Childhood_Fears_Title_MS and Childhood_Fears_Title_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission doesn’t get missed in the many submissions we receive.

Submissions are open until September 15, 2014. No submissions will be accepted after this date—no exceptions.

A final decision will be made by October 15, 2014.

Send your submission to [email protected] and include Childhood Fears Anthology in the subject line. Questions and queries can be addressed to Don D’Auria ([email protected]) though do your due diligence and read this anthology call completely and check the Samhain Submission FAQ page before emailing.

Source: Samhain Publishing.