At Sanitarium, we’re dedicated to bringing audiences the best in horror from around the world. We believe horror should be fresh, bold, and diverse. We aim to publish seasoned professionals alongside new voices, and we encourage authors to take creative risks with their work. Sanitarium is an inclusionary publishing space, and for this reason we ask that all authors submitting work adhere to our guidelines in order to facilitate our blind submission system.
Due to the high volume of work we receive, submissions that don’t follow the respective guidelines will be rejected. Additionally, work that is sent outside the posted deadline, or set reading windows, will not be considered for publication.
SANITARIUM MAGAZINE
Sanitarium Magazine is now open for submissions.
Offered in both print and digital editions, Sanitarium Magazine is a quarterly publication—released every January, April, July, and October—dedicated to bringing readers the best in short-form horror.
We’re looking for work that chills readers to the bone, makes us think the impossible is all too possible, and leaves a lasting impression. We want characters we can relate to, care about, see ourselves in, and obsess over. Authors are encouraged to submit works which fall under any form of horror and supernatural fiction (including but not limited to body horror, psychological horror, stories of the paranormal, dystopian works, and “creature features”).
Body horror, psychological horror, and pieces dealing with the supernatural or paranormal are all encouraged.
While we encourage writers to take risks and push the limits of literary horror, we ask that creators be mindful while doing so. Work that’s homophobic, transphobic, racist, ableist, or discriminatory will not be considered for publication. Additionally, works depicting and/or glorifying child abuse, animal cruelty, explicit sex acts, sexual assault and rape, or excessive violence towards women will be rejected for publication.
Sanitarium Magazine accepts submissions for:
– short stories;
– serial fiction;
– dark verse poetry.
Sanitarium Magazine does not accept submissions for:
– novel or novella excerpts;
– fanfiction;
– creative nonfiction;
– nonfiction essays/articles/interviews/think pieces;
– screenplays/stage plays/audio dramas/podcast episodes.
Sanitarium Magazine will only consider works submitted during the following reading windows:
– May 15th (as of 12:00 a.m. EST) to July 15th (until 11:59 p.m. EST)
– November 15th (as of 12:00 a.m. EST) to January 15th (until 11:59 p.m. EST)
Authors whose work appears in Sanitarium Magazine will receive a $5.00 USD honorarium, as well as a digital copy of the issue their work was featured in.
Works published in Sanitarium Magazine will automatically be considered for our annual best in horror anthology.
Submission Guidelines For Sanitarium Magazine:
– All submissions should be sent as either a .doc or .docx file (other file types will not be opened).
– The file name for attachments should be saved with the title of the work, and type of submissions, as their name (TitleOfWork_TypeOfSubmission)
– Ex. StoryTitle_ShortStory
– Ex. ThreePoems_Poetry
– Submissions should be sent in standard manuscript format and the body of your email should clearly indicate both the title and word count of the piece. We ask that your name, email, and other personal details do not appear on the attached work you are submitting (i.e. do not have your name in the header/footer, byline, title page, name of the attachment, etc.) as we use a blind submission system to ensure fairness when selecting works.
– For short story submissions, we accept stories ranging from 500 to 10,000 words (although stories between 1,500 to 7,000 words are generally preferred).
– For serial fiction submissions, we accept serials ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 words in length, and which have a maximum of four instalments to them. We ask authors to upload their serial as one attachment, and to clearly label where each instalment begins and concludes.
– For poetry submissions, we accept submissions of up to five poems at a time and ask that poets submit all of their poems as one attachment.
– We accept simultaneous submissions; however, we ask that authors notify us if their work has been accepted for publication elsewhere.
– We do not accept multiple submissions. Please wait to hear back from us before sending in more work.
– We do not accept previously published material. We consider work that has appeared on personal websites, patreon accounts, and social media as having been previously published. However, work which has been performed as a podcast, but has not previously appeared in print, will be considered for publication.
– All submissions should be sent to [email protected] with the subject line SUBMISSION: Type Of Work, Name Of Work.
– Ex. SUBMISSION: Short Story, Name Of Story
– Ex. SUBMISSION: Poetry, Five Poems
– Ex. SUBMISSION: Serial Fiction, Name Of Story
While we try to respond to each submission as quickly as possible, we ask that authors please wait at least four weeks before querying us on the status of your work.
