Deadline: August 15th, 2022
Payment: 5 cents per word
Theme: horror/dark fiction

Breakdown of content:

 

8 fiction pieces (approximate word lengths) – 1x 5000, 1x 3000, 1x 2500, 2x 1500, 3x 500
3-5 non-fiction pieces – 1 article, 1-2 briefs, 1 interview and/or review

– Fiction:

 

We are looking for horror/dark fiction pieces between 500-5000 words firm. Common sense when submitting please. We do not accept stories that involve the sexual abuse/exploitation of minors direct or implied. We are not looking for pure shock value. All components of your story should have merit. Gore for gore’s sake is not what we are looking for.

 

Our pay rates
5 cents per word
All payments are made in US funds via PayPal.

 

We accept submissions during the following reading periods , with an expected response time of up to 16 weeks. This way we are able to accommodate all the submissions we receive. If you have not heard back from us after 16 weeks, please feel free to send us an update query.

 

WINTER ISSUE: August 15 – November 15

 

SPRING ISSUE: November 16 – February 15

 

SUMMER ISSUE: February 16 – May 15

 

FALL ISSUE: May 16 – August 15

 

While not a requirement, we strongly suggest you pick up a copy of the digital magazine to help better understand the types of work we’re looking for.

All submissions must be sent via e-mail to: [email protected] as an attached word document or .rtf with the word “Fiction Submission – STORY TITLE” in the subject line. In the body of the email include a word count. A short bio is welcome, but not mandatory. Please also include if you wish your story considered for both the quarterly print and the website publication. Note compensation rates are different for website so be certain.

 

***VERY IMPORTANT: Stories embedded in the body of an email will go unread.***

 

 

Submissions which do not follow our formatting requirements will be deleted unread, so please take the time to look over the sample provided.

 

NO sexual abuse or exploitation of children – implied or explicit.  This is VERY important, which is why it is mentioned twice. If your story contains any reference, past or present, to such matters it will be rejected.

 

No reprints – No simultaneous submissions – No multiple submissions. Please wait to hear back from us before you send another piece.

 

Authors whose work is selected will receive a contract upon notification of acceptance.

 

– Nonfiction:

 

Dark Recesses Press is known for some of the strongest horror and dark fiction being published today. But you know the old saying… truth is stranger than fiction.

 

That’s what we want – nonfiction articles, essays, and briefs bringing news of the strange, odd, or just plain scary to our readers. Please read the complete guidelines for each form of non-fiction we want.

 

Full-length articles.

 

Query first. Let me repeat that. Query first. The last thing you or we want is for you to spend two weeks working on a story, only to find we already have assigned a similar piece to someone else.

 

So query first. Manuscripts submitted without querying will be deleted unread.

 

As to specifics, we’re open to a lot. Tell us about famous, or even not-so-famous, haunts in your neck of the woods. Are people coming up with proof aliens from outer space (or inner space, or another dimension) have landed in your town? Maybe we’re interested in it, too.

 

Don’t give us a regurgitated version of Wikipedia. Do your own research. Expand your vision — if you’re doing a piece on new equipment used by your local ghost hunting chapter, why not expand and see if other ghost hunters around the world are using the same equipment? The difference between a mediocre article and a really good one sometimes is a couple of e-mails and a fifteen-minute interview. Don’t go for mediocre, give us good. Try for great.

 

But, please, query first. Tell us about the story, how you plan to approach the subject, who you’ll interview, the expected story length and when you can have it done.

 

Send queries to [email protected]

 

All articles should not exceed 1,250 words FIRM.

 

Briefs.

 

Vampire fish in your local swimming hole? Alien worms in the sewer system? Bodies from some ancient civilization surfacing in your neighborhood? The mayor of the next town eliminating his re-election competition at the same time the local diner has some new “mystery meat” on the menu?

 

Those might not be worthy of full-length pieces, but we’re always on the lookout for dark news briefs.

 

Briefs should not exceed 300 words. Write tight, get to the point, and be done.

 

Query with your idea, your source of information, and your expected length, to [email protected]

 

Interviews

 

You have the inside track on getting a few words with a well-known (or up and coming) horror writer? Can you get a few minutes with a horror/dark fantasy movie producer? What about an exclusive with an editor or publisher?

 

Tell us about it, and maybe we’d like you to share your words with our readers.

 

Query first, telling us when you can get the interview completed and in our hands, to [email protected]

 

Reviews

 

If you want to join our stable of book, magazine, and movie reviewers, drop us a line telling us why, with a few samples, at [email protected]

 

Response times

 

We will do our best to respond to all queries within 2-3 weeks. If you haven’t heard from us four (4) weeks, please feel free to send a follow-up.

 

The response times on articles could be longer, though we’ll work with you on the front end so there will be less editing of the work when you turn it in.

 

Compensation

 

5 cents per word
All payments are made in US funds via PayPal.

 

Anything else?

 

If we haven’t covered it here, drop us a line here at [email protected]

Via: Dark Recesses Press.