AUTUMN NOIR: A Crime, Mystery, Noir, Suspense & Thriller Anthology

Announcing our FALL anthology!

The slide from Summer into Fall can sneak up on you, like footsteps keeping pace until they speed up and overtake you. We’re inviting fellow writers and artists to create original pieces that sweep us up in stories about the other, moodier season of change. Send us work that skews toward the gritty, the atmospheric, the strangely, dangerously beguiling. Whether the mystery unfolds as gently as a wisp of chimney smoke or brings the heart-thumping thrills of an end-of-summer storm is up to you. Just make sure to bring your creations to life with language as vibrant as Fall foliage and dialogue as crisp as Autumn air.

*We’re looking for stories, poems, and/or artwork that follow these THREE guidelines:

1. Respect the genre norms from the Crime, Mystery, Noir, Suspense, and/or Thriller genres (and their associated sub-genres).

   • For an excellent overview of the elements within and differences between these genres, check out this link.

2. Feature the Autumn season prominently in the setting of their story or are depicted in their poem or artwork.

3. Are inspired by and/or incorporate an element* from any ONE of the following (four) quotations in a way that is important to your storyline, poem, or image:

   • “In Greek tragedy, they fall from great heights. In noir, they fall from the curb.” (Dennis Lehane)

   • “The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go.” (Unknown)

   • “Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids.” (Gillian Flynn)

   • In the autumn of a woman’s life, there comes always one mad moment when she longs for romance, for adventure—before it is too late.” (Agatha Christie, The Underdog and Other Stories)

*NOTE: The actual quote does NOT need to be included in the story itself. If you would like to incorporate the quote in some way, that’s fine. However, we will be equally excited to see stories that include elements of the quotations (Greek tragedy, curb, trees, dead things, dark sides, black orchids, mad moments, Dennis Lehane, Gillian Flynn, Agatha Christie, etc.) or that capture the spirit of the quote in some way throughout their story, poem, or artwork.

Enter Here:

Contributors Selected:

• Will be notified by Wednesday, September 22, 2021

• Will receive full publishing credit in the Autumn Noir anthology

• One (1) free digital copy

• $20 payment

Copyright:

UNSETTLING READS, LLC was founded by two authors. We very much respect the rights of creators and do our best to promote both the works included in our anthologies and their creators. For more questions about copyrights, etc. please check out this sample contract.