by Stuart Conover | Feb 11, 2019 | Anthology, Events, Reprints Allowed, Semipro
Deadline: April 30th, 2019.
Payment: 2 cents a word for reprints, 4 cents a word for original work.
This horror anthology, to be edited by Jerry L. Wheeler, seeks stories under 10,000 words that involve one of the traditional tropes of campfire tales and slasher films: the axe murderer. Stories need not focus solely on this antagonist, but all stories must somehow involve this threat or concept. Think Angela Carter’s “The Fall River Axe Murders.” Surprise us by breathing new life into this theme. That said, we anticipate most of the book will be reprints – for which we are offering 2 cents a word. Original work pays 4 cents a word but first query the editor with a synopsis. Specs? Please submit Word docs only, standard formatting, 12 pt Times Roman to me at [email protected], using the title of the anthology as the subject line. The deadline is April 30th, 2019. | |
Via: Lethe Press Books.
by Stuart Conover | Feb 7, 2019 | Anthology, Events, Reprints Allowed, Royalties
Deadline: March 31st, 2019
Payment: Royalty Split
Note: Reprints Accepted
John Wayne Gacy. Pennywise. Juggalos. The Great Clown Panic of 2016. That birthday party you went to when you were four. Society is full of people being scared of clowns. But what are clowns scared of?
I’m looking for tales about that, tales where the clown in the room isn’t the real threat. From the high horror of an evil from before time to the tawdry prejudice of those who ‘know what sort of man likes playing with children’, give me stories about clowns with a reason to be scared.
Genre: Horror/Dark/Thriller/&c. Probably not literary; I want to see something creepy, weird, or unsettling, rather than a clown overcoming his fear of rejection.
Word Count: 1,000 – 10,000 words.
I don’t want to miss your story just because it’s a bit longer than the traditional short story.
Submission Window: 1 February — 31 March 2019.
Reprints? Yes.
If you have something that fits, I’ll give it equal consideration. Just let me know where it’s previously appeared.
Simultaneous Submissions? Yes.
Please tell me if your story is accepted by someone else first.
Multiple Submissions? Yes.
Within reason. Please send each one in a separate email.
Payment: All successful contributors will receive a share of royalties paid via PayPal.
Submissions: Email the story as an attachment to [email protected] with the subject FEARS OF A CLOWN – Your Name – Story Name.
Stories should be a ODT/DOC/DOCX file. They don’t have to be in standard manuscript format but if I struggle to read them then they probably won’t be selected, so use a sensible typeface and layout (someone has already asked if I want them in Comic Sans; so, you’ve missed your chance to do that “joke”).
Cover letters are optional; feel free to write one if you want to practice, have any questions or information you want to share, or don’t feel right not sending one.
If you haven’t received an acknowledgement within 7 days of submission, please query to make sure your email hasn’t been eaten by my spam filter.
I intend to make final decisions by the end of April. If you haven’t received a detailed response by 12 May 2019, please feel free to query.
- What counts as a clown?
I don’t want to limit this just to the red-nosed entertainer of circus and children’s party fame, so I’m using two criteria to identify a clown:- People might plausibly call them a clown or mistake them for a clown
- Their “clown-ness” is relevant to the story rather than simply colour
For example, someone who was a major prankster at school and is still playing everything for laughs at forty is a clown even if they never put on a costume or make-up; whereas, someone who does children’s parties on the weekends but spends the entire story at their weekday job probably isn’t.
- Does the clown have to be a hero?
No. They can be a hero, but they don’t have to be a good guy or even a protagonist. Just as long as any bad clowns aren’t the real threat and they’re scared of whatever the real threat is. - Can I have more than one clown in the story?
Yes. The working title is based on Tears of a Clown, but you can include an entire pratfall of clowns if you wish. - What about bad language?
Fear isn’t tidy, controlled, family friendly; in fact, it’s the opposite. So, if a character would swear then feel free to write them that way. Remember, salty language is like real salt: some can add flavour, throwing handfuls in smothers the taste. - What about gore?
The goal is to inspire fear not merely gross readers out. But if your graphic descriptions of maiming and torture are also creepy then that could fit.
Via: David J. Higgins.
by Stuart Conover | Jan 31, 2019 | Anthology, Contributor's Copy, Events, Reprints Allowed
Deadline: July 15th, 2019
Payment: Contributor’s Copy
Note: Reprints Allowed
Deadline: July 15, 2019
Editor: Rayah James
Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable
Unlike the other two regions of Dante’s famed Divine Comedy, the poem of Paradiso has received very little attention both culturally and critically. This anthology works to challenge that…even as it changes what heaven would be like for furry people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradiso_(Dante). This collection will be divided respectively into the ten parts. We expect stories to be framed to focus on people who will end up in a specific sphere. Most of a story should focus on what they did back on Earth in life. Showing how they died is not required but is pretty standard for this anthology series. We need to see their virtue that brought them there. However, here’s the challenge: we want to see anthro-animal characters who were strong and virtuous even in dark and trying circumstances, even if they ultimately failed. That’s right: like the previous two volumes, we are still wanting dark stories, be they horror, dark erotica, or similar. Easy ways to do this would be having a virtuous character be a victim to evil characters, or have a virtuous character be a witness, or perhaps most dastardly have a well-meaning character have to choose between the lesser of two evils…It is perfectly fine but not required if submissions are NSFW. All story submissions must be “furry” in nature.
We will NOT accept:
Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light.
Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light.
Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light.
Snuff or Necrophilia presented in a positive light
Bestiality presented in a positive light
If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask than to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just shoot me an email at [email protected] (restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36)
You can submit up to three stories, but we will only accept one per author (if any).
Reprints are fine, but you have to own full permission of the work in order for us to consider it.
We will not accept simultaneous submissions.
Payment: Authors will receive a free copy of the print book.
Send submissions in .doc or .docx format to [email protected]
Title your email with the circle in all caps, e.g. “FIRST.” If you are sending more than one submission, send multiple emails instead of putting them all in one.
We will inform all authors regarding decisions within a week or two after the deadline.
Book will likely be released December in plenty of time for a heavenly Christmas.
Here are the ten spheres and their general values.
First (The Moon / The Inconstant)
Second (Mercury / The Ambitious)
Third (Venus / The Lovers)
Fourth (The Sun / The Wise)
Fifth (Mars / The Warriors of the Faith)
Sixth (Jupiter / The Just Rulers)
Seventh (Saturn / The Contemplatives)
Eighth (The Fixed Stars / Faith, Hope, and Love)
Ninth (The Primum Mobile / The Angels)
Tenth (The Empyrean / God) [publisher’s note: I thought about taking this out for the sheer controversy it enabled; but then I realized it couldn’t hurt to see what authors came up with for it anyway. You all have impressed us numerous times before. We see no reason to stop your creativity now.]
Via: Thurston Howl Publications.
by Stuart Conover | Jan 25, 2019 | Anthology, Contributor's Copy, Events, Reprints Allowed
Deadline: June 1st, 2019
Payment: Contributor’s Copy
Note: Reprints Allowed
Deadline: June 1, 2019
Editors: Tarl Hoch and Thurston Howl
Word count: 2,500-8,000; a little above and a little below will be acceptable
We want your campfire ghost stories…with furry characters. I am going to forgo my usual long description for the anthology because I want to leave it open to you what kind of mythos you bring into your story. But keep in mind while this is an adult anthology, your story does not have to be NSFW. First and foremost, your story should be horror. Scare us! All story submissions must be “furry” in nature.
We will NOT accept:
Racism, sexism, or discrimination presented in a positive light.
Pedophilia or sex with characters under the age of 18 presented in a positive light.
Rape, torture, dubious consent, forced seduction presented in a positive light.
Snuff or Necrophilia presented in a positive light
Bestiality presented in a positive light
If you are in doubt, ASK. Better to ask than to get a straight up rejection! If you are unsure, just shoot me an email at [email protected] (restrictions borrowed from Voice: https://t.co/MWykJ6RY36)
You can submit up to three stories, but we will only accept one per author (if any).
Reprints are fine, but you have to own full permission of the work in order for us to consider it.
We will not accept simultaneous submissions.
Payment: Authors will receive a free copy of the print book.
Send submissions in .doc or .docx format to [email protected]
Title your email with the subject in all caps, e.g. “GHOSTS.” If you are sending more than one submission, send multiple emails instead of putting them all in one.
We will inform all authors regarding decisions within a week or two after the deadline.
Book will likely be released October in plenty of time for a spoopy Halloween.
Via: Thurston Howl Publications.
by Stuart Conover | Jan 16, 2019 | Flat Amount, Magazine, Ongoing Submissions, Poetry, Reprints Allowed
Payment: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints, $3 per poem, $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. For reviews, we pay $7.00 for each
Note: Reprints Allowed but highly limited
animalistic past. None of these are so strong as the fight or flight response. However, there are times when we seem to be perfectly safe, completely at ease and comfortable, when that urge to run from something sneaks up on us. What causes these sensations? Is there something lurking in the darkness? Why is that man giving you the creeps, he’s not even looking at you? And yet, there is something odd. Something instinctual, something you know without fully understanding. We may have moved on, we may have forgotten and left behind those old stories and legends of beasts, of voracious monsters, dark spirits, vampires, and shapeshifters… But they have not forgotten or left us . . .
What We Want
The subject matter of parABnormal Magazine is, yes, the paranormal. For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters, mythological creatures, and creatures from various folklores. If your story also has science fiction or fantasy elements, we regard that as a plus.
Please, no stories that involve excessive blood, gore, digestive tracts, and so forth. If you write a dark story, make sure it is spooky. Makes sure it is a story that should be read with all the lights on, with the reader looking over his or her shoulder while turning the pages.
However, we are not interested in zombie stories for this publication. No ghouls, no zombies.
Please bear in mind that all stories are always about people. The technologies those people employ are significant only in relation to people, to your characters. Tell us stories about people, not about gadgets.
(more…)
by Stuart Conover | Jan 15, 2019 | Magazine, Ongoing Submissions, Pro, Reprints Allowed
Payment: 6 cents per word
Note: Reprints Allowed
