Deadline: June 1st, 2016
Payment: $35 per story ($25 per reprint)
Notes: Reprints Allowed

Creepy Campfire Quarterly Publication (CCQ)
Tales of EXTREME Horror
Welcome to the Campfire
$35 per story ($25 per reprint)
Submissions are open for a limited time: April 1 – June 1
We are looking for more EXTREME horror submissions this time around. The stranger, the sicker, the more extreme and disturbing, all the better.

Welcome to the newest, most innovative horror quarterly publication on the planet! Creepy Campfire Stories (for Grownups) began as a stand-alone anthology, launched on May 13, 2015. The response from horror writers across the globe was phenomenal. In less than four months, we received over 220 submissions from all over the globe, from the UK, including London, Ireland, Scotland & Wales; Italy; Belgrade, Serbia; Germany; Poland; Australia; New Zealand; Western Cape, South Africa; The United States; and Canada! The quality of the stories streaming in was so exceptional that we were able to fill a full, 65,000 word anthology with absolutely amazing and high quality horror stories in less than two months! In fact, we had to close our submissions early, moving our end date back from September 13, to July 13!

Closing our anthology’s submissions so much earlier than originally planned, however, left many authors shut out. It soon became clear to us here at EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) Publishing, that there were just far too many quality horror writers out there to fit into one single anthology. We next landed upon making the Creepy Campfire Stories (for Grownups) brand an annual publication, every Fall/October, but as submissions to our original anthology continued to stream in, and the quality of the stories continued to astound us, we quickly realized that even an annual publication still wouldn’t fully accommodate the high number of amazingly talented authors of horror/extreme horror that exist today. We wanted to be able to publish, PAY and showcase as many new, up-and-coming horror writers as possible, as well as provide a new publishing outlet to already established horror writers who were starved for new places to submit their ongoing hard work and talent.

That is when the idea for turning Creepy Campfire Stories (for Grownups) into a Quarterly Publication was born.

The Creepy Campfire Quarterly Publication (CCQ) will be released four times a year, on January 20, April 20, July 20, and October 20. The publication will officially launch with issue #1 on January 20, 2016. The submissions period runs year-round, and is conducted through Submittable. The word count limit for the Quarterly is 1,200-5,500, and beginning with the October 20, 2016 forward, every issue will contain exactly 13 tales, no more. (each Quarterly will range between 50,000-75,000 words total). Authors accepted into the Quarterly publication will be paid $35 per story/$25 per reprint.

In keeping with the tradition of the original Creepy Campfire Stories (for Grownups) anthology (CCS), the new CCQ is meant for a mature audience. Each new issue will be different, but will surely contain at least a few horror tales that fall into the EXTREME category. We suggest that readers of the horror quarterly anthology be at least 17 years of age or older. The CCQ is not meant to be read aloud to, or by children!

And lastly, the CCQ is not a magazine! It is a quarterly horror anthology, featuring horror/extreme horror and science fiction/fantasy stories, and nothing else. There are no interviews, book or movie reviews, editorials, serial columns or anything else within the pages of each CCQ issue, nor will there ever be any advertisements. The CCQ will only feature horror stories, and most of the time, a fairly brief introduction by a special selected “Guest Author”. We are not a magazine, or digest, or a review. We are a quarterly anthology. Please also be informed that beginning with the April 20, 2016 issue of the new CCQ, the cover will read in duplicate to the original CCS anthology: Tales of EXTREME Horror. Not all stories that appear in the CCQ will fall under this category, but a high enough volume of tales in each issue will, to necessitate the *warning.

Creepy Campfire Stories (for Grownups) strives to be a beacon of hope and service to struggling horror writers across the globe. We accept stories from any country (but they must be in English). And now for our  submissions guidelines:

*Failure to meet all of our guidelines (or any of them) may result in an immediate dismissal of your story. Please pay EMP Publishing due respect by reading and following our guidelines. If not, we reserve the right to reject your story without ever reading a sentence. Thank you.

All stories must be submitted in English

12 pt. Times New Roman, DOUBLE SPACED

Must be a Word .doc or .docx file ONLY

NO HEADERS (page #’s okay)

Please set your auto indent to .2″ or higher, and no spaces between paragraphs

Word limit is 5,500, and minimum is 1,200 (*if you wish to submit outside these guidelines, please query [email protected] first for permission, we sometimes allow exceptions)

*Payment = $35 per story/$25 per reprint + one (1) contributor’s copy.

Please include a title page with pen name, story title, word count, contact e-mail and mailing address.

*All authors published in the Creepy Campfire Quarterly will receive full contributor’s credit listing on Amazon, to facilitate links to author pages and publishing credit proofs.

*We ask for exclusive print and e-print rights to accepted stories for 3 months, beginning from publication date of the Quarterly edition your story appears in.

*Each Quarterly issue will contain ONLY 13 stories.

*In your submission/cover letter please specify whether your story is original and previously unpublished, or if it is a reprint, so that we are certain that you are aware of this particular submission rule. You MUST submit your story with the written clarification that it is original (previously unpublished), or a reprint, in your cover letter. Failure to do so will result in an immediate dismissal and rejection of your submission.

 

Profanity allowed? –Of course, it’s a horror publication! Just try not to swear simply for profanity’s sake. Make sure ALL language is fully relevant to the character or tone of the story.

Sexual content allowed? –Of course! Just make certain it belongs in the story. We prefer the super-graphic descriptions be saved for the bloody parts of the story.

Is Gore allowed? –Seriously? You asked us THAT?! Leave this website now. It’s a HORROR publication!

Multiple subs allowed? -Yes, but try not to send in too many at once. Remember, each story will be read in its entirety. The more stories we get, the longer the response time grows.

Simultaneous subs allowed? –Yes. If we accept your story, however, it falls upon you to withdraw your story from all other submissions portals, and properly notify other publishers.

ALL horror is welcome, including ALL sub-genres: science fiction, speculative, magical, fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, psychological, historical, Urban Legend, Original Creepy Pasta, mystical, Occult and Extreme.

What we don’t want:

NO YA. Remember, this Quarterly is meant for Grownups!! It’s also meant to lean towards Extreme Horror.

NO straight-up comedy. Levity is great, but we don’t want any full-tilt horror comedy, we want serious stories, designed to frighten, disturb, shock, or otherwise entertain readers.

We generally don’t censor, but we will most probably reject your story if it contains: animal torture or abuse/excessive suffering of animals/pets; graphic descriptions of incest/rape/child molestation/abuse/graphic depictions of pedophilia; racially or sexually offensive, or obviously prejudiced language or tone. We want Extreme Horror, not ugly bullshit. Please just follow our guidelines and use your best judgment. Do NOT fill EMP Publishing’s e-mail inbox with silly questions about ‘trigger warnings’. We don’t have those.

Questions? Shoot an e-mail to our owner and Senior Editor, Ms. Jennifer Word at [email protected]

Submittable link and submissions for the Quarterly Publication:

*Our current response time is 45-60 days.

Via: EMP Publishing.