The Horror Tree

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

Category: Semipro

Semi-Pro Rates

Anthology / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Generation X-ed (Early Listing)

Submission Window: June 20th -July 3rd, 2021
Payment: $0.01/word
Theme: Any aspect of horror that contains element(s) specific to Generation X
Note: Open only to writers of Generation X (aka born 1965-1980. A year wiggle room is okay.)

Dark Ink Books, the home of Kane Holder’s and Tom Savini’s official biographies as well as acclaimed horror anthologies Ghosts, Goblins, Murder, and Madness: Twenty Tales of Halloween and Unburied: A Collection of Queer Dark Fiction, is excited to announce its next open call for short story submissions:

 

Title: Generation X-ed

 

Specifics: (more…)

Events / Magazine / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: The Cafe Irreal August 2021

Deadline: July 1st, 2021
Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum)
Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below.

The Cafe Irreal is a quarterly webzine that presents a kind of fantastic fiction infrequently published in English. This fiction, which we would describe as irreal, resembles the work of writers such as Franz Kafka, Kobo Abe, Clarice Lispector and Jorge Luis Borges. As a type of fiction it rejects the tendency to portray people and places realistically and the need for a full resolution to the story; instead, it shows us a reality constantly being undermined. Therefore, we’re interested in stories by writers who write about what they don’t know, take us places we couldn’t possibly go, and don’t try to make us care about the characters. We would also suggest you take a look at the current issue, archives, and theory (especially the essay, “What is irrealism?”) pages on this web site. (more…)

Anthology / Events / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Strange Wars

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 (Original call had windows that has been modified to this date)
Payment:CAD 2c/word for originals; 50% rate for reprints
Theme: Speculative Fiction of Coalitions in Conflict
Note: Reprints welcome

As a special way to accommodate people developing stories for Strange Wars or Strange Religion, authors have the option of requesting to make late submissions. This is intended for authors who expect not to be able to finish writing and polishing their submission before the close of our submission window. If you think you will need any additional time, you can request to make a late submission here.

Strange Wars: Speculative Fiction of Coalitions in Conflict

Strange Wars explores military conflict through speculative fiction. These are stories with an original take on organized aggression.

For science fiction stories about war: What will warfare look like in a hundred years? How will technology reshape war? Will they still be fought on traditional battlefields, or will completely new frontiers open? Will the major parties to conflict change? Will wars between nation states be replaced by corporate wars, proxy wars, and insurgent conflicts? We are interested in stories that explore military implications of: drones, Lunar and Martian colonies (or expansion into space generally), cryptocurrency, privatized military forces, non-state actors in military conflict, 3D-printing, hacking, environmental catastrophe, renewable energy sources, artificial intelligence, and other themes.

For fantasy war stories about war: How can magic, gods, parallel worlds, or otherworldly societies reshape our conception of war? Are other forms of organized conflict possible? Can such fantastic visions serve as thought experiments and expand our understanding of conflict? What kind of magic could make a world without war possible? If it’s not possible, why not? If it is, at what cost? These fantasy stories explore war through speculative world-building, inventing fantastic premises and revealing their consequences through exciting and entertaining narratives.

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Anthology / Events / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Strange Religion

Deadline: May 31st, 2021 (Original call had windows that has been modified to this date)
Payment:CAD 2c/word for originals; 50% rate for reprints
Theme: Speculative Fiction of Spirituality, Belief, and Practice
Note: Reprints welcome

As a special way to accommodate people developing stories for Strange Wars or Strange Religion, authors have the option of requesting to make late submissions. This is intended for authors who expect not to be able to finish writing and polishing their submission before the close of our submission window. If you think you will need any additional time, you can request to make a late submission here.

Strange Religion: Speculative Fiction of Spirituality, Belief, and Practice

Strange Religion thoughtfully and respectfully explores religious traditions and ideas through speculative fiction.  These are stories about the rituals, theology, and spirituality of aliens, AI, and the denizens of fantastic worlds depicted by scripture and religious folklore.

How do Muslims on other planets pray and perform the hajj? How would AI worship or read scripture? How would interreligious dialogue change if shamanic magic turned out to be real? What would the Bible be like if it were written by elves? How would the Buddha get by today? Suppose the remains of Krishna were found—what then? What if prophets didn’t only see the future but were from the future?

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Anthology / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Humans are the Problem: A Monster’s Anthology

Deadline: May 15th, 2021
Payment: 5 cents per word
Theme: Monsters adapting to the 31st century

Weird Little Worlds Press is looking for contributors to its inaugural Kickstarter science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthology. Bring your weird and help us tell the best monster stories you’ve ever imagined.

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Anthology / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Wight Christmas (Relist)

Deadline: May 31st, 2021
Payment: CAD 1/2 CENT per word for originals; 50% for reprints (i.e. CAD 1/4 CENT per word)
Theme: Christmas horror with a dark and subversive theme that doesn’t include Krampus
Note: Reprints Welcome
Note: Relisted due to deadline extension

Wight Christmas is an anthology of holiday horror, and in particular stories that subvert Christmas tropes and seasonal clichés. We are seeking dark reinterpretations of seasonal traditions, and stories that reimagine holiday characters as ghosts, demons, spirits, supernatural entities, or other paranormal phenomena.

Fantasy and science fiction genres are both okay, but in all cases, submissions are more likely to be successful if they are dark and subversive.

No Krampus.
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Events / Semipro

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Contest – Shallow Waters April (SHORT Window)

Deadline: March 31st, 2021
Payment: 3 cents per word
Theme: Hotels, Motels, and Apartment buildings
Note: My apologies for the short notice, this JUST hit my inbox about 5 minutes before I’m posting this.

Your April Shallow Waters theme is…

…Hotels, Motels, and Apartment buildings!

To celebrate the release of Jonathan Winn’s Eidolon Avenue: The Second Feast (out today on paperback and Kindle), we’re going with the same dark setting/theme as his shared-world collection.

Authors, your word count is 1,200 words max. I’ll personally read all the submissions and post the best 10 to 15 stories here on Patreon (to our $5 a month and higher tiers). Our patrons will then read all the entries, posted one per day, and vote for a winner. (more…)

Events / Magazine / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries

Deadline: May 31st, 2021
Payment: 2 cents USD per word
Theme: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries

Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries

This summer we will be publishing our first hardcover anthology. We’re looking for original 1k-8k word stories with off-beat characters, bungling detectives, or funny premises. Be creative, but make it about a mystery/crime, and make us laugh! (more…)