The Horror Tree

Horror Tree is a resource for authors that lists open markets, articles, interviews, original fiction, and more!

Category: Flash

Flash Fiction

Anthology / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Poetry / Royalties

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Taking Submissions: The Needle Drops

Deadline: May 1st, 2021
Payment: Poetry: £15 per poem upfront payment upon publication + 0.5% revenue share scheme., Flash Fiction: £50 upfront payment upon publication + 1% revenue share scheme., Short Fiction: £100 upfront payment upon publication + 2% revenue share scheme.
Theme: Elevate us, and share thrilling stories of horror and romance, betrayal and bloodlust. Wherever you go regarding genre or form, we yearn to read what great works have yet to be read.

Currently, we’re in the process of establishing our first publication – The Needle Drops… Whilst we welcome all submissions, currently we are only moving forward with those within the horror genre, to be featured in Volume One releasing in the Summer / Fall of 2021. The preliminary end date for submissions is the 1st of May 2021. However, we especially encourage submissions at any time from BIPOC and those from LGBTQI+ community, as it is important to prioritise underrepresented voices and experiences, especially within the publishing industry – something which has been dominated by the white cis experience.

 

The Needle Drops… features an illustrated comic strip, original soundtrack, curated design by our in-house team and more. Dive into our blog for more information. One contributor will have the opportunity to work with our composer on an original soundtrack piece that will feature in the OST, available physically in the Limited Edition of The Needle Drops… as well as digitally via our Urhi Supporter scheme.

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Events / Flash / Semipro

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Contest: Crystal Lake Publishing Shallow Waters Contest: Clowns, Carnivals, and Sideshows!

Deadline: February 28th, 2021
Payment: $0.03 per word and inclusion in an anthology
Theme: Clowns, Carnivals, and Sideshows!
Note: Apologies for the quick deadline, I missed this being posted

Your March theme is…

Clowns, Carnivals and Sideshows!

Authors, you have up to 1,000 words to write a Dark Fiction / Horror story based on this theme. The submission deadline is end of February at midnight. Please send your submission in the body of an email to [email protected], with the title of your story as the subject email.

Payment includes $0.03 per word, publication in an upcoming Shallow Waters anthology, and an author spotlight on our Patreon page and newsletter. We’ll post the best stories here on Patreon for our $5 and higher patrons to read, after which they’ll vote for the winner. Authors are not allowed to vote for their own stories.

Have fun!

Via: Crystal Lake Publishing’s Patreon.

Anthology / Flash / Flat Amount / Ongoing Submissions / Reprints Allowed

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Ongoing Submissions: Shelter of Daylight

Payment: Original Stories: $25.00, Reprint Stories: $15.00, Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word, Poems: $5.00, Articles: $20.00
Theme: Original science fiction and fantasy stories that are upbeat and positive in their mood
Note: Reprints Welcome

Shelter of Daylight began with Sam’s Dot Publishing back around the turn of the decade. After some years, it was discontinued. Now, under Hiraeth Books, it has revived.

Shelter of Daylight is now published semi-annually, in January and in July, in print [and, eventually, as an eBook]. It presents original science fiction and fantasy stories that are upbeat and positive in their mood. It also presents a few original poems, again along the overall mood.

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Shelter of Daylight wants original stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development. Remember, if readers do not care what happens to your main character[s], they won’t read the story. The narrative should maintain a sense of wondering what’s going to happen next; of what’s lurking just around the corner. Showing is better than telling. Frex, instead of telling the reader that it’s cold, show your character shivering, stomping feet, or having ice form on beard or hair. The inner thoughts and emotions of your character[s] are just as important.

​

Stories submitted to Shelter of Daylight should be between 4K and 8K words long. Longer or shorter stories will be considered; however, anything less than 4K will be a difficult sell. Anything 1K or less will be considered flash fiction. We will consider reprint stories, provided they adhere to the guidelines; however, they are difficult sells.

Submit your stories as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers].

Please submit one story at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. We hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

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Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Novella / Ongoing Submissions

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Ongoing Submissions: The Colored Lens

Payment: $20 per short story, $10 per flash, and $20 for the first 10,000 words and $1 per 1000 words for novellas
Theme: All varieties of speculative fiction, from alternate history, to high fantasy, to nuts and bolts hard science fiction, to dark fantasy

The Colored Lens was created to showcase stories that shift our perspective on the world, through the far-reaching genre of speculative fiction. However, the fundamentals of good storytelling always come first: stories with characters we enjoy reading about and a solid plot. As long as your story includes them, we’d love to read it.

We publish all varieties of speculative fiction, from alternate history, to high fantasy, to nuts and bolts hard science fiction, to dark fantasy, so long as it meets the guidelines above. Whatever the genre, the focus should be used to comment on our world and society rather than exclusively to keep the reader turning pages.

A few things to keep in mind when submitting:

  • Stories should have a plot. Although we want stories that comment on our world and society, stories should also have a hook, rising action, climax, and resolution, although the handling of those elements can be experimental.
  • Flash fiction is great, but make sure it has a fully developed plot.
  • Stories must have a speculative element. It can be slight, but must be present.
  • Present tense will be a harder sell than traditional past tense. We have published stories in the present tense, and undoubtedly will continue to do so, but stories in the past tense tend to have a higher chance of acceptance.
  • Sex, violence, and related themes are fine, but those elements should not be the main focus of the story.

Length & Format
We publish stories up to 10,000 words, although we prefer stories in the 500-5000 word range. We also publish novellas up to 20,000 words, serialized over multiple issues.
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Contributor's Copy / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Poetry

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Taking Submissions: AGNI Online

Deadline: May 31st, 2021
Payment: $10 per printed (or printed-out) page for accepted prose, and $20 per page for accepted poetry, up to a maximum of $150 and 2 contributors copies
Theme: This has to be literature. They don’t print genre work but you can borrow from genre work for your story.

Essentials to remember

Reading
period
September 1st
– May 31st
Response
time
Two to four
months
Submission
methods
Electronic and
postal
Simultaneous
submissions
Accepted
Word
limit
No hard-and-fast
length limit

We look for writing that catches experience before the crusts of habit form—poetry and prose that resist ideas about what a certain kind of writing “should do.” We seek out writers who tell their truths in their own words and convince us as we read that we’ve found something no one else could have written.

When to submit

AGNI welcomes manuscripts between September 1st and May 31st. Submissions mailed in June, July, or August will be returned unread, provided sufficient return postage is included.

Things to know when submitting

  • Nearly everything we publish is unsolicited.
  • We encourage submissions from writers of all identities, living anywhere, published and unpublished.
  • We will not consider writing that has already been published in English, whether in a book, magazine, newspaper, or on an app, a website, a social media feed, or a publicly accessible online community.
  • We consider only work written in English or translated into English.
  • We have no word limits, though space is at a premium and length sometimes affects our decisions.
  • We do not publish genre romance, horror, mystery, or science fiction; however, we are open to writing that borrows elements from any of these.
  • We will consider excerpts if they read as if they were meant to stand alone.
  • We are interested in personal essays, think-pieces, memoir, prose poems, formal poems, blank verse, free verse, short stories, and short shorts; we do not publish academic essays or purely journalistic writing.
  • Though we rely on student interns for many things, they are not involved in considering submissions. All manuscripts are read by masthead editors.
  • Our blog features posts by writers who have appeared previously in AGNI or AGNI Online.
  • You can familiarize yourself with the magazine by ordering a recent print issue or by perusing the writing that appears here. This site includes selected pieces from our decades of print issues and everything we’ve published at AGNI Online since its inauguration in 2002.

Some requests

  • Please send only one story, one essay, or up to five poems, and please wait for our reply before sending more. As soon as we respond, you can feel free to submit again during a reading period.
  • Please use page numbers and, if you are submitting prose, double-space your document.
  • Please do not submit revisions of work we’ve already considered.
  • If you submit on paper and want us to reply by mail, please enclose a stamped, addressed envelope (SAE). If the envelope is large enough and you include sufficient postage, we will return the manuscript; otherwise, it will be recycled. If you’d like to be notified by email only, please include your email address and skip the SAE.
  • Do not email your work; we do not read or consider emailed submissions.
  • Feel free to submit the same work to other magazines simultaneously. If your entire submission is accepted elsewhere, please log in to your online account and withdraw using the link there—or, if you’ve submitted by mail, or if only a portion of your submission has been taken elsewhere, please contact us with a quick withdrawal note.
  • Do not mail your work to us in the months of June, July, or August. The online portal is also closed during those months.
  • Do not send us your only copy; we cannot accept responsibility for your manuscript.
  • Please do not contact us about your submission until four months have passed. We work hard to respond within two, but we’re not always able. After four months, please contact us right away if you have not received a reply.

WHERE to send:

If you’d rather not submit through our free online portal, please address your envelope to the Fiction Editor, Poetry Editor, or Nonfiction Editor and mail to:

AGNI Magazine
Boston University
236 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215

Regular post is fine. There is no advantage to sending a more expensive way.

Purchasing rights

All submissions are considered for both print and online publication.

We buy first worldwide serial rights and pay $10 per printed (or printed-out) page for accepted prose, and $20 per page for accepted poetry, up to a maximum of $150. We also give a year’s subscription to AGNI. In the case of print publication, each contributor receives two copies of the issue their work appears in, and we send up to four additional copies to friends or family.

Blog publication, which is limited to writers who have previously appeared in AGNI or AGNI Online, is unpaid.

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Via: Agni Online.

Flash / Ongoing Submissions / Online / Semipro

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Ongoing Submissions: Wyldblood – Flash Fiction

Payment: 1p (GBP) per word
Theme: Speculative fiction though some areas are hard sells (see below.)
Note: Other areas are open as well for short stories and whatnot but I’ve been told those will close and open depending on submission levels.

For all submissions:

  • email us at [email protected]
  • submit using standard manuscript format
  • send us Word or RTF files – no PDF please.
  • head your email SUBMISSION (category) – (story title) – (your name)
  • include your contact details in your submission.
  • add a SHORT cover note in the body of your email (longer for novels).
  • simultaneous submissions are fine (but tell us if you get placed elsewhere).
  • multiple submissions are a no-no. Don’t swamp us. Wait a decent interval between submissions.
  • we are not currently accepting reprints (except by invitation).
  • RIGHTS We are buying first worldwide serial and electronic rights with a 180 day exclusivity.
  • SHORT STORIES should be 1,000-6,000 words MAX
  • 1p (GBP) per word via paypal (approx 1.3c US)
  • initially for online publication in Wyldblood Magazine.
  • best stories may be reprinted in an anthology.
  • FLASH 300-1,000 words MAX
  • 1p (GBP) per word via paypal (approx 1.3c US)
  • initially for online publication only (Flash Fridays).
  • best stories may be reprinted in an anthology.
  • NOVELLAS AND NOVELS 40-120,000 words (flexible).
  • send us the full text and include a one page synopsis.
  • royalties only (competitive rates).
  • ebook and print.

What’s going to impress us (and what don’t we want to see)?

If you’re going to be submitting work to us, here are a few things you may want to bear in mind. We’ll be updating this list regularly, so check for our latest – we may suddenly have an urge for zombie romances (kidding – hell hasn’t frozen over yet).

  • we’ve seen many things many times so be original.
  • we’re picky buyers.
  • we can tell if you know your craft – don’t send us your first draft and make sure you’ve covered the basics. It doesn’t have to be perfect (if an author tells me they’ve never submitted a story with a typo or an obvious spelling mistake they’re lying) – but it does have to be professional.
  • zombies and vampires are a hard sell. Werewolves, though, are always welcome.
  • we’re not into gratuitous gore or erotica – don’t send us anything you wouldn’t want your kid sister to see.
  • my mother used to ask me why, since there are millions of beautiful words in the English language, did I have to use that one? Fucked if I know, but be moderate with your swearing.
  • lots of high fantasy names will send us heading for the reject button.
  • ditto lots of backstory about your fantasy universe that swamps the plot.
  • thoughtful, character based stories are our thing.
  • don’t shy away from politics or religion but anything racist or deliberately offensive will get you canned.
  • if you’re writing science fiction, we’ve got to buy in to your world building. Hand-wavey pseudo science rarely impresses.
  • no fan-fic – we’ve no desire to get sued.
  • Enthusiasm, perserverence and an obvious willingness to take feedback and respond positively go a long way with us.

Via: Wild Blood.

Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Poetry

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Ongoing Submissions: Breath & Shadow

Payment: $20 for poetry, $30 for fiction, and $30 for nonfiction.
Theme: All forms of genre
Note: This is a market only for those with a disability

We are always looking for submissions. Please read our guidelines thoroughly.

Breath & Shadow only accepts work from people with disabilities. We use the term “disability” broadly to encompass anyone with a physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, or sensory impairment that significantly affects one or more major life functions. We accept writing from people of all ages. If a writer is under 21 years old, we suggest you include your age in your cover letter so we can judge your work accordingly. In some cases, editing/revising assistance may be offered to younger writers.

We know that friends, family members, and care providers of people with disabilities also have important things to say about their experience of disability. However, Breath & Shadow is a forum for people with disabilities to speak for ourselves. We hope that our allies will support this endeavor.

  • Breath & Shadow accepts writing on any topic for poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama; these pieces do not have to be “about” disability. However nonfiction, academic, and similar articles (profiles, interviews, opinion pieces) do have to relate to disability in some way.

  • We accept all forms of poetry, with a limit of 3 poems per submission. In addition to written work, poets may also submit audio/video links to performances of their work. Youtube and Soundcloud are preferred services, although we are open to other sources.

  • All forms/genres of fiction are accepted, with a maximum of 3000 words. Book excerpts are considered, but they should stand on their own.

  • Any subject matter or style of creative nonfiction is accepted. We strongly prefer pieces under 3000 words, although on occasion we will consider longer, exceptional works.

  •  The nonfiction category is wide open, with a maximum of 3000 words. We especially seek interviews with people involved with the disability movement (artists, writers, leaders, activists); reviews of books, performances, movies, etc. as they relate to disability; insightful commentary on trends or issues facing the disability community. If you have an idea for a nonfiction article, we encourage you to query us before you write it.

  • Any topic or style of drama is accepted. One person shows, excerpts, or performance art is also accepted, with a maximum of 3000 words.

  • Keep in mind our name and focus: Breath and Shadow. We’re particularly seeking work that speaks to living, beingness, inspiration, imagination, spirit, expiration, endings, movement of time, shadow sides, hiddenness, mystery, darkness, and casting new light on your subject.

  •  We are not interested in inspirational stories of people overcoming their disability, or simply coming to terms with it. We are not looking for stories with a moral. We tend to shy away from sing-songy rhyming ‘Hallmark card’ type poems. Same goes for medical articles, stories about cures or miracle treatments, or religious agendas.

The following must be included in your submission email: Your complete contact information, a brief third person biography, and an indication of your disabilities.

The subject line of your email should include your name, the category of your submission, and the title: “Jane Smith, Fiction, Rejection Issues”. For poetry, indicate the number of poems (Maximum 3).

We encourage submission of original work, although we will consider previously published work. When submitting, please indicate where/when the piece was previously published.

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Send all submissions and questions to [email protected]!

Compensation

Payment is upon publication. The pay scale is $20 for poetry, $30 for fiction, and $30 for nonfiction. In the future, as the journal grows, we hope to be able to pay more.

In addition to publication and payment, Breath & Shadow will post links to contributors’ work on other sites and to their Web site or e-mail address.

Via: Ability Maine.

Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Ongoing Submissions / Poetry / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Ongoing Submissions: The Fifth Di…

Payment: Original Stories: $25.00, Reprint Stories: $15.00, Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word, Poems: $5.00, Articles: $20.00
Theme: All genre work with a strong emphasis on character development
Note: Reprints Allowed

The Fifth Di… began with James Baker of ProMart Publishing back around the turn of the millennium. After his passing in September 2002, it was under the editorial stewardship of J Alan Erwine, now of Nomadic Delirium Press. In November 2019, it was handed over to Hiraeth Books.

The Fifth Di… is now published quarterly, in March, June, September, and December, in print [and, eventually, as an eBook]. It presents original science fiction, fantasy, and spooky horror stories. It also presents a few original poems, again along the overall theme.

The Fifth Di… wants original stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development. Remember, if readers do not care what happens to your main character[s], they won’t read the story. The narrative should maintain a sense of wondering what’s going to happen next; of what’s lurking just around the corner. Showing is better than telling. Frex, instead of telling the reader that it’s cold, show your character shivering, stomping feet, or having ice form on beard or hair. The inner thoughts and emotions of your character[s] are just as important.

Stories submitted to The Fifth Di… should be between 4K and 8K words long. Longer or shorter stories will be considered; however, anything less than 4K will be a difficult sell. Anything 1K or less will be considered flash fiction. We will consider reprint stories, provided they adhere to the guidelines; however, they are difficult sells.

Submit your stories as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers].

Please submit one story at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. We hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Poetry submitted to The Fifth Di… should be from about ten to a hundred lines. Please submit no more than three poems at a time, and wait for the response before submitting more. Again, we hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Submit your poems as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] or IBOE to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers].

The Fifth Di… also considers articles related to science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Articles include essays and reviews, as well as writing tips. Word count should be around 1K words, up to a loose 5K words. Please submit one article at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. Yet again, we hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

Submit your articles as rtf or .doc attachments [NO .docx, please] to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Boil spammers; inexpensive vegetable oil works best].

The Fifth Di… is not considering cover art at this time.

Payment is made upon publication by check or Paypal as follows:

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Original Stories: $25.00

Reprint Stories: $15.00

Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word

Poems: $5.00

Articles: $20.00

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NOTE: If you live outside the United States, you will be paid via Paypal, or must make some other arrangement with the editor.

All submissions must include contact information. This means:

​

Name [yours, not necessarily your byline name]

Address [street, city, country, and zip code or equivalent]

e-mail address

Paypal address

​

If your address changes before the publication date, please let us know.

Queries should be sent to sdpshowcase at yahoo dot com [you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Grill spammers; the grillwork of a 1950 Buick or a 1953 Packard works best].

Via: Hiraeth Publishing.