The Horror Tree

Category: Semipro

Semi-Pro Rates

Events / Flat Amount / Magazine / Poetry / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Bleed Error #1

Deadline: March 1st, 2022
Payment: $1c per word, and $15 per poem
Theme: The gamut of everything from absurdist horror to bizarre science-fiction to unsettling dark fantasy.

• What are we looking for?
We’re looking for short stories, flash fiction, and poetry that runs the gamut of everything from absurdist horror to bizarre science-fiction to unsettling dark fantasy. We love the uncanny; what we look for is the telling drop in your stomach when you absently look up at the skies and there are far more constellations than you’d remembered, brighter and closer and in configurations you don’t quite recall. We want stories about the bleed error of the universe printing outside the margins of reality.
We are interested in stories with LGBTQ2S+ and diverse leads, especially with narratives that are not confined to tragedy tropes.
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Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Samhain Sorceries

Deadline: February 1st, 2022
Payment: One cent per word and a contributors copy
Theme: Sword-and-sorcery stories where Samhain/Halloween is relevant to the plot

On October 31, 2021, DMR Books will reopen for submissions once again for a themed anthology tentatively entitled Samhain Sorceries. The concept for this book will be sword-and-sorcery stories where Samhain/Halloween is relevant to the plot. For clarification, sword-and-sorcery is a genre that combines swashbuckling adventure with supernatural elements (usually of a horrific nature) in a pre-industrial setting. Unlike most S&S stories, which are set in an invented world like Hyperborea or Nehwon, the tales in Samhain Sorceries should take place in the British Isles. Any time period is suitable, as long as it’s pre-industrial. Admittedly, not many stories that fall in this category have been written, so I would suggest reading those few that exist to get a better idea of what I’m looking for. Those stories are “The Unlawful Hunter” and “The Haunting of Mara” by Keith Taylor (which can be found in Renegade Swords II) and “All Will Be Righted on Samhain” by Howie K. Bentley and David C. Smith (which appears in Swords of Steel Omnibus).

What we’re not looking for:

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Anthology / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: A Fistful of Demons

Deadline: January 31st, 2021
Payment: $25 per thousand words
Theme: Weird westerns set in the world of ‘The Widow’s Son’ (a link to details below for those who haven’t read it.

Malahas Press will be publishing a Weird West/Western Horror anthology of short fiction titled A Fistful of Demons from both debut and established authors in the Fall of 2022. We are based in the US, and welcome submissions from around the world.

If you’re interested in submitting a short story to A Fistful of Demons, please read the following guidelines.
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Events / Magazine / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: The Cafe Irreal Spring 2022

Deadline: January 1st, 2022
Payment: One cent U.S. per word ($2 minimum)
Theme: Fantastic Fiction You really NEED to read the description below.

Our Guidelines

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.

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Anthology / Events / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Paradoxical Pets

Deadline: February 11th 2022
Payment: $.01 per word advanced against royalties
Theme: Wondrous pets
Note: Reprints Welcome

Paradoxical Pets is open to stories about wondrous pets, be they alien, magical, artificial, or common pets with some special power. Fantasy or science fiction are welcome.

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Anthology / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Night Terrors anthology November 2021 Window

Deadline: November 30th, 2021
Payment: 1 cent per word ($10 for every 1,000 words prorated, $50 for every 5,000 words prorated, and so on)
Theme: Short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales.

Scare Street is now accepting submissions for its Night Terrors anthology.

We’re looking for unpublished short horror stories that focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales.

We want dark, creepy, weird, and unsettling fiction that are expertly told. Give us character-driven narratives with clever but logical twists at the end, creative and fresh takes on common horror tropes, terrifying monsters, and suspenseful tales. Gore and violence are fine as long as it follows our guidelines and it’s not just for shock value.

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Anthology / Events / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Beware The Bugs

Deadline: February 11th 2022
Payment: $.01 per word advanced against royalties
Theme: Giant bugs!
Note: Reprints Welcome

Beware the Bugs is open to stories about giant bugs (or, perhaps, normal sized bugs and tiny humans). Fantasy or science fiction are welcome.

Word Balloon Books sells print editions at comic cons, Ren Fairs, and book festivals. We’ve noticed that most books at these event target adult readers,  so in 2022 we’re launching a line of anthologies appropriate for readers 10 and up. We’re open to challenging themes and subject matter, but language, graphic violence, and sexual content should be rated G. Child or teen protagonists preferred.
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Anthology / Events / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Hitchcockian-Themed Anthology

Deadline: November 30th, 2021
Payment: 4€ euros per 1000 words for original stories and two print copies, 2€ euros per 1000 words for reprints and two print copies
Theme: Stories directly inspired by a Hitchcock film
Note: Reprints Welcome

Black Beacon Books publishes quality mystery and suspense anthologies.

We are currently OPEN to submissions for our Hitchcock-themed anthology.


We’re looking for suspense stories directly inspired by a Hitchcock film. The story doesn’t have to be set in the 50s or 60s but it must convey the atmosphere and tension that make his films so memorable. Please submit the first page only of your story and a synopsis of the entire plot. Include the name of the film that inspired your story in your introduction. Deadline for first page and synopsis: November 30th, 2021. Pay rates as per section below the #

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