Deadline: October 16th, 2022
Payment: $0.01 per word for short stories, $25 per poem and a contributor’s copy
Theme: An anthology of sea horror stories

SAND, SALT, BLOOD is an anthology of sea horror stories, aiming to raise money for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution – https://rnli.org). We’re looking for horror stories set on, in or around the sea, including coastal areas and islands, as long as the sea plays a key part. Let’s face it – the sea is terrifying! What’s lurking down there? What happens when that comes to the surface? What about isolated communities on small islands, or dock workers loading and unloading ships? Although the editor likes stories with sirens, mermaids, and other sea creatures, think beyond that too.

Horror isn’t just about the shock and gore – consider the creepy and eerie, too, the kind of atmosphere that raises the hair on your neck and makes you feel like you’re being watched…

SAND, SALT, BLOOD will be edited by Elle Turpitt and published by Sliced Up Press.

What we’re looking for:

• Submissions must be in the horror genre. All subgenres are welcome including bizarro, splatterpunk and extreme horror, but don’t shock for the sake of shock. Poetry is also welcome.
• We’re especially interested in submissions from women, BIPOC, disabled and LGBTQIA+ authors.
• All submissions must be original. We will not accept reprints, or stories published elsewhere, including on blogs, social media, etc. (This does not include stories published on password protected websites for the intention of critique.)
• Submit your best work in modern or classic manuscript format (as outlined on www.shunn.net/format), as an MS Word .doc or .docx attachment. Anything sent in a different format will be rejected without reply.
• Authors may submit 3 (three) stories or poems maximum for consideration. Please ensure these are sent in separate emails.
• No simultaneous submissions please.

Submission guidelines & terms

Please email submissions to [email protected] using the following format in the email subject line:

Submission for Sand Salt Blood: [author’s name] – [story/poem title] – [word count]

So your email subject line should look like this: Submission for Sand Salt Blood: Turpitt, Elle – Off the Coast – 1,500 words

Please ensure there is something in the body of the email, as otherwise it risks ending up in the Spam folder.

If you wish to include content warnings, please put these at the top of your manuscript.

Anything which does not follow submission guidelines may be deleted without reply.

Payment: $0.01 per word for short fiction, $25 per poem (any length), paid via PayPal, plus 1 x paperback contributor copy following publication

Length: 2 – 4K words (no minimum/maximum word count for poetry)

Deadline for Submissions: 16^th October 2022 at midnight (GMT) or until filled

Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection as soon as possible after the closing date. Please do not query until four weeks after closing date. Please only email after submitting if you wish to withdraw your story.

No exclusivity will be sought. Authors retain all rights to their work after publication.

We are not looking for artwork submissions at this time.

About the Editor

Elle Turpitt is a writer, editor, reviewer and podcaster. She’s had stories published in Were Tales: A Shapeshifter Anthology, The Dead Inside, and on The NoSleep Podcast. She co-runs the dark fiction blog Divination Hollow, and co-hosts Esbat: A Bookish Podcast. She previously co-edited the anthology A Woman Built By Man with author S.H. Cooper, and loves getting the opportunity to work with some of her favourite people. She grew up in a seaside town, has almost drowned twice, and knows how brutal and beautiful the sea can be. You can find out more about Elle by following her on Twitter, @elleturpitt, or heading over to her blog, elleturpitt.com

Via: Sliced Up press.