Deadline: November 30th, 2017
Payment: $15 (more depending on Kickstarter) and a contributor’s copy
Once again, we are inviting submissions from the world at large! WELCOME TO PACIFIC CITY is a sort-of shared world project: we name the place, you bring it to life through the mediums of science fiction, fantasy or horror. Stories should be set in our fictionalised Pacific City, and a key element should be heroism and/or villainy, be it “super” or otherwise. You can check here for an inspirational guide to the city, or download the short Pacific City Manifesto for other useful information.
However, although this is primarily a speculative fiction project, we are also open to stories that help make Pacific City feel like a real place. Not every inspiring (or insidious) story demands the out of the ordinary for impact — but if a masked avenger wanders by while you’re bringing us down to earth, well, that won’t do your chances any harm…
Although we can only offer a nominal fee up front, all contributors will also receive a physical copy of the collection. In addition, we plan to run a Kickstarter campaign prior to publication in an attempt to raise funds for increased author fees. The editor has previously organised two successful fiction-related campaigns, including one for our 2015 anthology — this is no guarantee of future success, but it bodes well!
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Maximum Word Count: 7,500.
This is a very firm limit. Pieces between 2,500 and 5,000 words preferred. Flash fiction will be considered, but the longer a story the more it needs to impress.
Submission Deadline: November 30th, 2017.
Minimum Compensation:USD$15 on acceptance of contract, plus one contributor’s copy of the print-on-demand paperback on publication.
All submissions must be the original work of the author — we will not accept any story incorporating copyrighted characters or material, fan fiction, etc.
We require First Print and Digital rights, plus a six month period of exclusivity from the date of publication. All other rights remain entirely with the authors.
While this anthology is intended for an adult readership, this is not a market for pornographic or offensively extreme content. “Artistic justification” is a good (if subjective) argument, and we shall (subjectively) assess each story according to its (subjective) merits.
We welcome writers of any and all backgrounds and submissions exploring diverse perspectives, provided they do not seek only to attack or demean those of others.
FORMATTING GUIDELINES:
Acceptable document types are RTF, DOC or DOCX.
Straightforward formatting is preferred for editorial convenience:
Please use an easy-reading font (Times New Roman 12pt, etc.).
Do not insert empty lines between paragraphs, or first-line indents.
Use a single # to represent essential text breaks.
Use italics for italics, don’t underline. Smart (“curly”) punctuation is fine.
If your manuscript includes any unusual formatting, please alert the editors when submitting and have a really good, story-related reason.
All submissions should be emailed to Andrew at:
andrew [dot] leon [dot] hudson [at] gmail [dot] com
If you can’t figure out how to turn the above into a working email address, please consider this page your form rejection.
If you can, then we look forward to reading your submissions!
Payment: We pay £3.50 for original flash fiction, £5 for original writing articles, and £6 for original short stories over 1000 words. For all reprints we pay £2.50.
Note: Reprints Allowed
Monsters everywhere are hungry, so we need you to write for us!
Here at Feed Your Monster we seek only the very tastiest, most unique delicacies for fussy monsters everywhere. We don’t serve school dinners or ready meals or cold leftovers. Our monsters want something satisfying to sink their hungry teeth into and we aim to deliver.
We love to dish up lighthearted fiction with a sprinkling of horror and a pickled garnish. We want original, fantastic, funny, gory, and scary all in the same course. To please us you’ll need to cook up your very best.
Here’s how:
***
What do we want?
Flash Fiction
Our bread and butter. We love flash fiction. We prefer it short and snappy, but with buckets of flavour and a shot of dark humour. Send us your snacks and appetisers.
Maximum word count 1000 words.
Short Stories
We prefer bite-sized stories, however every now and then we need something really meaty. If you can supply a bone chilling tale to pile high the greediest plate then we want to see it.
Maximum word count 3000 words
Writing Articles
We’re seeking well structured, dynamic pieces designed to help writers refine their skill. Can you help us pen the perfect plot, create heroes we root for, villains we love to hate, tips on prose and writing success? If so, we want to hear from you.
Maximum word count 1500 words
The Finer Details
One submission at a time please, wait for a response on your first submission before submitting another.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere if we have not already responded.
We do consider reprints provided the rights have reverted back to you, however we pay a marked down price for these see the payments section and please note, if your story is a reprint please say so in the submission email.
We welcome new and experienced writers. You may send us a bio with your submission if you like, however it’s the story we are interested in first and foremost.
Only a handful of stories will make the cut each month so make sure you send something extra tasty for the monster.
You can either paste the story into the body of the message, or attach a document.
As Feed Your Monster has only a very small amount of staff please allow three months for us to respond, after which you may query your submission. You can retract your submission at anytime by emailing Rinoa Cameron at the above address.
Payment
We don’t believe in free dinners. Every story or article we accept will receive a small payment to thank you for your hard work.
We pay £3.50 for original flash fiction, £5 for original writing articles, and £6 for original short stories over 1000 words. For all reprints we pay £2.50.
You will receive payment once you have agreed to our contract, which we will send upon accepting your submission. You will also receive the opportunity to have any books you wish to promote and up to two chosen webpages or Facebook pages featured in the Writer’s Buffet section of our website.
Payments are done via paypal with no other form of payment available.
Rights
Feed Your Monster purchases First Electronic Rights and/or (your contract will stipulate) limited one-time, non-exclusive rights to audio. All stories are copyright of and credited to their authors, however by submitting to us you are agreeing that you are in possession of the correct rights to the story/article. Please tell us if it is a reprint.
An important note to consider: If you sell your First Electronic Rights to Feed Your Monster, it is worth remembering that most other publications will consider it a published work that can only be sold going forwards as a reprint. This will limit the number of markets available to the piece in the future and will also reduce the pay rate you may be able to receive. Therefore, before submitting to us, please be certain that selling your First Electronic Rights for our token payment is something you are happy to proceed with. After all, we care about our writers and only want what’s best for you.
Tips for success
Keep it clean – we love a good scary, gory tale and we don’t even mind the odd F-bomb, but some things are just too disgusting to eat. We’re not looking for extreme horror here.
Read our ezine – there’s no better way to find out what we like!
Tidy up your mess – check your spellings and do your writing homework. Stories littered with mistakes will be fed straight to the monsters in our rejection bin.
Freak us out – be creepy or weird or creepy and weird. Make your story smell better (or perhaps worse) than the rest.
And good luck – sometimes it doesn’t matter how amazing a story is, it may just not be right for us. If we reject you don’t be disheartened. We want you to be the very best writer you can be. We love writers, we care for writers, we exist for writers.
Deadline: October 31st, 2017
Payment: $20 per story.
ANTIMATTER publishes flash fiction and story experiments inspired by the latest science news and discoveries.
We’re most interested in flash fiction, but we’re also open to story experiments, narrative games, and text messager-based stories.
HOW IT WORKS
First, find a recent scientific story, headline, or discovery that sparks your imagination. (View science headlines here. View scientific story prompts here.) Then, use that real science headline to inform, drive, or inspire an original flash science fiction story.
A short story up to 500 words (about one single-spaced page that can be read aloud in about five minutes).
A story with a plot (though we’re open to creative interpretation).
A story linked to a recent science headline, new discovery, or new hypothesis or theory.
Writers are encouraged to experiment with the flash fiction story form. For example, your story could be framed as a lab report, scientific article, message transcript, or a poem, or a script. It’s not required, but preference is given to stories crafted to feel real – like they really happened. Such stories can include many links to sources, authoritative quotes, and other techniques that lead the reader to suspend disbelief.
HOW TO SUBMIT A STORY
We use Submittable to manage story submissions. When you send us your story via Submittable, you will need to include a link to the article that inspired your story as well as a short bio.
You will receive notice if your story is accepted within five days of submission.
Payment is sent within 21 days of notice of acceptance.
Antimatter will promote your story via social media, potentially including paid promotion, and via our email newsletter.
PAY
Antimatter Magazine pays $20 per story.
We issue payment within 21 days of story publication.
Additionally, we reserve the right to offer you more money for additional reprinting in ANTIMATTER anthologies.
RIGHTS
In exchange for the fee we pay for your story, we ask for first North American serial rights and First Electronic Rights. Here’s a good, simple explanation of those rights. What does first publication mean?
Your story will be published on AntimatterMag.com.
Your story might be syndicated to our Medium publication at Medium.com/AntimatterMag.
A link to your story will be distributed to our email list.
Your story will be available to our other channels, including AntimatterMag.com, RSS, and through anthologized issues, which can appear on e-readers and other devices, and in our AntimatterMag.com archives.
Also, unless arrangements are made in advance, we reserve exclusive rights to published
content for 60 days. This means no other posting of the accepted story anywhere on the Web, or in print in the United States or Canada, for 60 days after its exclusive appearance on AntimatterMag.com and Antimatter Magazine channels.
After 60 days, AntimatterMag.com will share full rights with original writers.
First publication in Antimatter grants the Magazine permission to republish flashes, articles, and reviews elsewhere (in, for example, an anthology of the best pieces from Flash).
We are also asking for indefinite archiving rights, as the story may appear on AntimatterMag.com and associated channels.
At the writer’s request, we will remove the story from our archives after 60 days.
If the story is republished after 60 days, we ask that AntimatterMag.com be credited as the original publisher with a link to the piece on AntimatterMag.com in the byline or the body.
Please Note
In most cases, we don’t accept reprints, including from your personal website. If you think we should, though, let us know.
Please don’t submit the same story to us and any other venue at the same time. We’ll let you know if we accepted it within 5 business days of submission.
PROMOTION
We promote your stories on social media and in our newsletter.
Your bio and a link to your website and social profiles will be listed on AntimatterMag.com.
REQUIREMENTS
For Antimatter to accept your writing and pay you, we will need:
A print-ready, third-person bio with your cover letter.
A PayPal address or mailing address where we can send payment.
Deadline: September 30th, 2017
Payment: $30 per story, $10 per poem
Please read the following in its entirety before submitting. The rules are needed, and EC will not consider your work if they have not been followed.
It’s important to read samples of published work on EC. You can find just a few examples here.
HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT: No unsolicited work of any kind is being accepted. Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at EC.
— Six times a year, writers and poets will have a chance to submit fairy-tale inspired stories and poems. No non-fiction of any kind.
— Here are the submission periods: Months–January, March, May, July, September, November.
— Days of those months–the first through the 30th. That’s starting at 12 a.m. on the first day of a submission month. That’s ending at 11:59 p.m. of the 30th of a submission month (28th for February). Those are Eastern Standard Times.
— No stories or poems will be accepted in the following months, so please do not send any: February, April, June, August, October, December.
— You submit through email only. Please use this address only: [email protected] That’s for submissions only.
— All questions, but no submissions, should be sent to [email protected].
— Your last name, the month and the year should be in the subject line of the email.
— You must be 18 years old or older, but may be from any country.
— You should try to use American English word forms and punctuation.
— Do not send attachments. They will not be opened or considered. Paste your work in the body of an email.
— You will receive a response telling you I have received your submission.
— No editorial feedback of any kind will be provided. I’m sorry about that. I just do not have the time.
— No fancy spacing or characters, please. Do not indent for new paragraphs. Just do an extra return between them. My publishing platform is tricky. Heavy dialogue is very hard to format. Resist the urge. Most classic tales are not heavy on dialogue.
— Your submission must include how you follow EC. Methods include something Google related, Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest (the board called New Posts at Enchanted Conversation). You only need to follow in one way. Just search for my name, Kate Wolford, and you will be able to follow both me and EC. But if you don’t follow, your work will not be considered. For a better explanation, go here: http://bit.ly/27Y2FNI
— A Paypal address must be included. Without one, work will not be considered.
— Only previously unpublished work, please. Only one work per writer per submission period.
— First electronic rights are being bought. Once the story is published, you are free to shop it elsewhere.
— All things being equal, authors who comment and support EC will get greater consideration of their work. But quality takes precedence over all other considerations.
THEMES
Each of the six submission periods for 2017 will have a theme. Here they are:
1. January: “Steadfast Tin Soldier,”
2. March: “Diamonds and Toads,”
3. May: “Donkeyskin,”
4. July: “Emperors New Clothes,”
5. September: “Godfather Death,”
6. November: “Elves and the Shoemaker.”
When each window for submissions opens, a theme-related post will be published. Please read the relevant post before writing your submission. All of the themes are classic fairy tales, but I do not want retreads of the original stories. At the same time, your works should reflect the chosen theme, or there is no chance of publication.
WORD COUNT and CONTENT
Stories should be no shorter than 700 words and no longer than 3,000.
Poems may be of any length.
Absolutely none of the following: Sci-fi, dystopian, erotica, high fantasy, excessive world building, time-travel, futuristic, space travel, western. Oh, and I hate love triangles. Also, EC is NOT a children’s publication. Period
It’s essential that you read past EC stories and poems to see what I publish on EC. (Note, to make sure there is no confusion, understand that EC is on e-publication only. 12-31-16.) Also, Beyond the Glass Slipper, Krampusnacht, He Sees You When He’s Creepin, and Frozen Fairy Tales give great insight insight into what I publish. You can find them at Amazon, B&N and other booksellers. All are available in ebook form.
The essence of classic fairy tales must be maintained when you write these stories. Your are free to explore themes by retelling a classic tale–but in your own way and in keeping with the theme. I tend to prefer things to end happily, but it’s not essential. Please think of the classic fairy tale form when writing poems or stories. NOTIFICATION OF SUCCESS and PAYMENT
— Story pay: $30, Poem pay: $10. US dollars only.
— Payment will be made through PayPal only.
— Non-acceptance emails will not be sent out. Instead, the names of those whose works are chosen will be posted on EC no later than the 7th of the month following a submission month.
— The winners will usually be published at the end of the non-submission month following a submission month. Example: January is a submission month. Winners will be posted no later than February 7 and winners would usually be published on the last day of February.
Following Stuart’s recent article on author bios, it has been great to see a number of contributors have actually taken this advice onboard and a few have even sent in a revised bio as a consequence. I can guarantee these bios have given the author a more professional appearance, showing they take their work seriously. The hardest time to write a bio is at the start of your publishing career, I mean what can you say? I know that was the time I found it tough – everyone else was reeling off all their publications and there was me with nothing. That, for me, has now changed – as it will for any of you yet to be published, but, for those currently in this position, I would refer you back to that article and read what the editors in the business say themselves. Then go back to your bio and redraft it.
Stuart has a number of articles planned in the future which we hope will help you on your writing journey, however, if you have any particular topics you would like us to cover, please drop us a line at Horror Tree.
Stephanie Ellis
Editor, Trembling With Fear
‘Trembling With Fear’ Is Horror Tree’s weekly inclusion of shorts and drabbles submitted for your entertainment by our readers! As long as the submissions are coming in, we’ll be posting every Sunday for your enjoyment.
Stuart Conover
Editor, Horror Tree
Eat It
My shaking hand nearly drops the hunk of meat on its way to my mouth. I fight valiantly against my gag reflex as my tongue and teeth mash the fatty, globular slab of jiggling pink flesh against my gums. I swallow the macerated compote of raw protein, slimy and soft, down my throat. The taste is about as repugnant as you’d think. Pungent. Clammy. The tiniest bit salty.
The revolver’s hammer cocks, the only sound in the otherwise silent chamber. Cold metal licks the side of my head, pressing through my sweat-laden curls, into my skin. The blood pulsing through my temples struggles against the pressure of the gun and the bullet promised in its barrel.
“Another.”
His demand is husky. Vocals ravaged by a life of chain-smoking and barking orders.
My vision swims and swirls. The remnants of ketamine he’d stabbed into my veins blur my sight, corrupt my perception of reality. The restraints pinning my ankles to the fancifully carved mahogany seat at the head of the dazzlingly long, disturbingly empty dining room table seem to tighten. Their leather kiss is not gentle. I can feel the bruises blooming, sickening violet, putrid yellow.
I lift another chunk of brain from the gilded china platter. Meat oozes beneath my fingernails. Grease slathers my palms.
“Go on.”
My sob is involuntary, muffled behind a mouthful of my sister’s cranial contents. I chew slowly. Nausea churns my gut but the shame is a thousand times more potent, warping my mind, roiling my stomach, cinching my throat tight like a garrote.
I splutter. Bits of grey matter and frothy saliva spray onto the immaculate tablecloth.
His revolver slams into my head, snapping my head to the left. I can’t help the pathetic yelp and the effeminate whimper that escapes my lips in fear of the bullet inside.
“Eat it.”
I am a coward.
I don’t want to die.
So I force her brain down my throat, waging a grotesque war against my humanity with my will to survive, to flee this godforsaken place, and put as much distance between me and this cannibalistic monster of a man.
“Eat.”
The gun is a frozen, undeniable force against my skull.
“Go ahead, Michael,” he says. “It’s okay to like it.”
I shiver. I cry. Snot and tears do nothing to improve the taste.
I shovel quivering handfuls of my sister’s brain into my mouth, murdered by the man’s unforgiving axe just hours before.
I eat it. Piece by agonizing piece, I eat it.
Gobs of it lodge between my teeth. Drool slathers my face. My stomach moans in betrayal.
“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” His laugh is deep, drawling, casual. “I’ve tried it every which way.”
The revolver is icy.
“Sautéed. Baked. Grilled.”
His breath is rank.
“But raw…”
Goosebumps sting my skin.
“That’s the way to go.”
And then he shoots me.
Should’ve never gone to that damned dinner party.
Brianna M. Fenty
Brianna Fenty is a state maritime academy alumna hailing from New York’s wonderfully weird Long Island area. After spending a few months learning highland voodoo from Scotland’s resident fairies (AKA taking a gap year), she now keeps busy at home begrudgingly searching for a day job, writing strange stories, and forcing her very moody cat to read them. Brianna specializes in writing bizarre speculative fiction, including horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy. Her work can be followed on her blog, https://briannafenty.wordpress.com!
It was just a simple misstep on the stairs. She landed heavily, neatly snapping her ankle. There was no pain, unless she tried to move. She was stuck.
She was alone; her husband was away on business, the phone was out of reach and the nearest neighbor a mile away.
For three days she lay there. Their dog snuffled around trying to help, asking for food and water.
She realised she was going to die, not from the fracture, but from thirst. The dog was the same. She stared into its eyes.
“Help me.”
She felt breath against her throat.
RJ Meldrum
R. J. Meldrum is an author and academic. Born in Scotland, he moved to Ontario, Canada in 2010 with his wife Sally. His interest in the supernatural is a lifetime obsession and when he isn’t writing ghost stories, he’s busy scouring the shelves of antique book-sellers to increase his collection of rare and vintage supernatural books. During the winter months, he trains and races his own team of sled dogs.
He has had stories published by Sirens Call Publications, Horrified Press, Trembling with Fear, Darkhouse Books, Digital Fiction and James Ward Kirk Fiction.
The intruder lunged, its claws grazed her arm. Clutching her cellphone, Helen burst from the house and scurried into the woods — her only escape. She could lose it in the woods.
No time for tears. Keep running. Breathe. Breath. Don’t look back. Run.
She switched on the phone’s flashlight. It helped a little.
Run. Run.
She tripped, but caught herself. She turned back. Nothing there.
Run. Breathe.
A sound came from the right. It reached for her. She dodged it.
Run. Run. I can’t see.
She tripped, falling head-first into a thick tree trunk. Helen was scared no more.
Pernell Rogers
Pernell Rogers is a product of the supernatural world. In his mind, the real world isn’t real at all. All human motivation is based on fear, and it’s that fear that he tries to expose in his writings.
Her ghost lurks in every corner. The shelf dust, the molding webs, even the corner shadows. I hadn’t been home in years.
“She’s obviously been here,” Mark said, pointing to ivy, flowering plants, fresh blooms. “Who else would care for these?”
But I didn’t reply. My brother’s question hung in the silent gloom as I traced roots along the walls, thickening like fat fingers pointing to a secret.
“Do you think she’s still living in this dump?” he yelled.
Vines wound their way into a back room, where they dug into Sarah’s corpse—the best fertilizer around.
“No, I don’t.”
Kevin Holton
Kevin Holton is the writer behind all sorts of work, ranging from dozens of short stories, to a variety of poems, and even a co-written screenplay. His first traditionally published novel, The Nightmare King, is forthcoming from Siren’s Call Publications. He also has a YouTube channel reading some of his drabbles and flash fiction. When not writing, he’s a gamer, actor, athlete, and coffee enthusiast who probably likes Batman too much.
