Category: Anthology

Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mystery 1889 & 1890

Deadline: Deadline for proposals is April 30th, 2025. Submission deadline for stories is June 30th, 2025.
Payment: $125 dollars and a contributor’s copy
Theme: Sherlock Holmes stories that are canonical in nature and fit the timeline below.

“When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years ’82 and ’90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave.” – Dr. Watson

Synopsis: The year 1889 was a particularly busy one for Holmes with a number of cases including The Hound (Sept. 25-Oct. 20); “The Beryl Coronet” (Feb. 19-20); “The Man with the Twisted Lip” (June 18-19);  “The Naval Treaty” (Aug. 1); “Cardboard Box” (Aug. 31- Sept. 2); “The Engineer’s Thumb.” (Sept. 7-8);  “Crooked Man” (Sept. 11-12);  and “Blue Carbuncle) (Dec. 27). Although things slowed a bit in 1890, prominent cases included “Copper Beeches” (April 5-20); “Silver Blaze” (Sept. 25-30) and “The Red-Headed League” (Oct. 9-11). But what other cases did our heroes encounter in these years? Find out in  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1889 &  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1890.

Submission Guidelines: The stories must be Canonical in nature and fit with the timeline. Holmes and Watson should act like they do in the original stories. As you can see above, a number of the original cases from this period are specifically dated, so please bear that in mind when you are writing your story.

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Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flash / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Untitled Creature Feature Anthology

Deadline: April 30th, 2025
Payment: 1 cent per word and a contributors copy
Theme: Creature Feature with the premise of situations where something is being sought out by a person/group.

My first foray into horror was creature features. Growing up, I loved movies that involved monsters: Them!, Godzilla, The Birds, Swamp Thing, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly, and many more. Pair that with my background in anthropology and biology, and it’s a Petri dish of ingredients bound to spawn new terrors. What better way to celebrate the second year of Inky Bones Press than to publish an anthology based on the subjects that inspired me to both love and write horror. I can’t wait to read your twists and interpretations of the requirements lurking below.

What horrors will you unleash?

Theme:

Situations where something is being sought out by a person/group. They could be grave robbers, treasure hunters, archaeologists, cryptozoologists, entomologists, biologists, hide-and-seek fanatics, anything you choose—as long as their plans go awry. Get weird and creative!

Must Include:

  • Bones: you can mention the word itself or be more specific. Ex: spine, skull, vertebrae, ribs, skeleton
  • A creature of your choice: tiny, monstrous, an alien—just make sure it’s scary!

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Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Reprints Allowed

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Taking Submissions: Strange Legacy: 2025

Deadline: April 30th, 2025
Payment: $20 and a contributor copy for US authors or $35 for non-US authors
Theme: “Classic” monsters creature feature story (think all of the old Universal Monsters for inspiration.)
Note: Reprints welcome

Strange Legacy: 2025 (Creature Feature) is actually a continuation of the Strange Aeon anthology series. We are going in a slightly different direction this year thematically with a bit of a break from purely cosmic horror and focusing instead on the creatures, both traditional and original. The editorial style will remain the same. As usual, these style preferences apply to gore and sex as well: think early Weird Tales, no excessive language or explicit sexual references. (You do not have to remove all profanity from your submission—I can read around it—but, if your story is accepted, you will be required to remove it from the final version.)

The theme of this year’s anthology is the “classic” monster story—from old favorites like vampires and werewolves to Lovecraftian creatures [1] to the byproducts of insane science experiments. That being said, please send anything you consider a good story. Feel free to query for any questions. If you are planning to write a story especially for this anthology, by all means query the idea first.

I am especially interested in stories of mad science, monster-based horror, weird western, and stories that “peel the onion.” Indeed, I cannot emphasize strongly enough the need for these categories. Victoriana and Lovecraft era period pieces will have a much harder time finding acceptance.

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Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Something Out There

Deadline: April 30th, 2025
Payment: $25 and a contributor’s copy
Theme: Stories taking place in a specific area based around a UFO festival

Welcome to Bellflower, a sleepy (fictional) Nevada town where nothing much happens. Well, except for the influx of tourists asking about Area 51, which lies to the southwest, and the annual UFO festival, which happens every August. For years, man watched the skies. In Bellflower…the skies watched back.

We’re looking for submissions that take place during or around this festival, a town-wide event where locals dress up, set up telescopes, take tourists on shady desert tours, and stay up all hours of the night, hoping for a glimpse of something from the great beyond.

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Taking Submissions: Consumed

Deadline: April 30th, 2025
Payment: 1500-4000=$10, 4001-75000=$20
Theme: Horror that involves food

Arbutus Studios is planning our first prose horror anthology, “Consumed” for publication in 2025.

The anthology’s title alludes to a central theme of food and eating. Itching to tell a twisted cannibal tale? Have a unique take on zombies? Cursed birthday cakes? All the above are in line with what we’re looking for.

What we want

For this anthology, Arbutus Studios seeks original horror stories that fit snugly within the imagery, concept, and theme of food.

Tales submitted to Consumed can encompass more than one horror subgenre or blend other speculative genres into the narrative. We want to read stories we can’t put down, and thoughtful tales that linger with you long after the final page.

Original, compelling stories will grab our attention. Retreads of familiar horror clichés will be privately mocked, and the tales sent straight to hell. We want to see interesting characters, unique worlds, and unsettling atmosphere. Surprise us. Scare us. Tickle our imagination.

Arbutus Studios will automatically reject stories with extreme gore or stories that glorify sexual violence, child abuse, cruelty to animals, body-shaming, or other deviant behaviour.

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Anthology / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Enter Here

Submission Window: Marginalized writers from June 1, 2025 to June 15, 2025 and for BIPOC writers from June 1, 2025 to June 22, 2025.
Payment: $0.01 USD per word
Theme: Speculative fiction from marginalized voices that include a door opening (literally or metaphorically) in some manner.

GENRE: Speculative Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror

TITLE: Enter Here: An Anthology of Portals

For untold years, the door has been closed. But today, the key turns. The lock clicks. The door opens, and you go through it.

What awaits you on the other side?

ENTER HERE is an anthology of thirteen short stories of speculative fiction from marginalized voices. Breaking into publishing can feel like knocking on a closed door or being turned away from a locked gate. With this anthology, we want to open the doors.

Stories in this collection may fall into any genre of speculative fiction and will span the range from cozy to grimdark, but every piece must include a door opening in some manner. Physical or metaphorical, traditional or unusual—make the doors your own. Send us your lushly written, genre-blending stories that look at portals in unexpected or unusual ways.

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Anthology / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Reprints Allowed

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Taking Submissions: Monstrous Angels

Submission Window: February 23rd to May 23rd, 2025
Payment: $20
Theme: Answering the question – why are angels so compelling as anti-heroes and/or villains?

Monstrous Angels is an anthology that will explore one of the most enduring questions of religious horror–why are angels so compelling as anti-heroes and/or villains? We’ve seen it time and time again: Angelfall, Constantine, Legion, Angelology, the list goes on. We love our dark angels.

​We want stories of the morally gray. Of angels and humans trying their best and failing. We want to explore all corners of this topic so feel free to be broad. Angel-like beings from other cultures are welcomed and encouraged. Our definition of angel is loose. We want winged divine creatures trying to navigate moral quandaries, being consumed by righteous anger, and experiencing the consequences of being too close to humans. 

Give us your nasty angels. Your conflicted angels. We want dark, complicated stories.

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Taking Submissions: Tiny Terrors 2025

Deadline: October 31st, 2025
Payment: .02¢ per word
Theme: Tiny Terrors is our short fiction program for when a novel just won’t do. Just a short shocking scream to keep you awake at night …

Tiny Terrors is our short fiction program for when a novel just won’t do. Just a short shocking scream to keep you awake at night …

Graveside Press is again looking for submissions for our Tiny Terrors short fiction program.
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