Deadline: May 31st, 2018
Payment: $50AUD

A slight departure from the other anthologies, this one is calling out for dark Sci-Fi writers! Interpret that how you will, and read on…

Submissions Deadline: End of May.

Publication Date: July 2018

Website: www.ThingsInTheWell.webs.com/submissions

Email: [email protected] when your story is complete, and as great as it can be!

Theme:

By all means draw inspiration from them, but I’m not looking Alien/Predator fan-fiction, or rehashes of old sci-fi classics. I want stories that areoutstanding, different, and memorable! I want something new and exciting! New psychological terrors involving time travel; new primal fears to threaten humanity, and new hopes that we may conquer them; new creatures that will make people want to go out and buy the Halloween mask; and new stories of the weird in the outer-reaches of time and space. If you need more ideas, take a look outside the typical Sci-Fi genre (perhaps read Clive Barker’s short story ‘The Skins of the Fathers’ or HPL’s ‘The Colour out of space,’ or go back further and look wider to William Hope Hodgson’s ‘The House on the Borderland’ or Brian Lumley’s ‘The House of Doors’ or ‘Necroscope’ series. So, something memorable, dark, and/or something that offers hope and/or despair for humanity… I envision the SciFi element as merely the stage for the story to unfold, cracking our world(s) open to reveal a truer story beyond the genre’s superfice. Gee, that sounds pompous, but you get my (space) drift. I anticipate a (star)fleet of top-notch submissions as usual, so I’m after memorable stories, a sense of dread, and some level of believability and internal consistency would be more important than a lengthy treatise or a quick shudder. Yes, space viruses and alien encounters can be believable if written well.

Stop!

Before putting fingers on keyboards (or pen to paper) you would do well to read my Editor’s blog at http://thingsinthewell.webs.com/editor-s-blogor buy and read some of our previous themed anthologies on Amazon. (You may have to look for them in your stores, or ask for them!)

Payment: We pay $50 AUD for a story, as well as a copy of the book in paperback form, or three copies of the book if you prefer.

Reprints: I’m not looking for reprints as I try to limit the use of reprints to authors with a huge following – Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft, Ramsey Campbell, etc.

Word Count, etc. Word count is expected to be 5,000 – 8,000 words, although I am flexible on the basis that if the story fits, it should wear it. Having said that, although it’s a flat-rate payment ($50AUD), I don’t think a writer should limit themselves based on the payment rate.

Thanks, and good luck in providing me with a close encounter of the literary kind!!

Steve Dillon, series editor.