Taking Submissions: Scary Stories to Tell in October
May 15
Submission Window: April 1st – 30th, 2025
Extended Window May 1 – May 15th (Exclusively for Disabled, Neurodiverse, BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, and other underrepresented voices.)
Payment: $31
Theme: Halloween
Death by TBR Books is a woman/disability owned indie online bookshop and indie press. We will be opening submissions for our upcoming Halloween horror anthology set to be released in August 2026!
If you don’t know the owner of Death by TBR Books then you may not be aware of her obsession for all things fall and Halloween. THIS anthology will be all about Halloween. This could be a nostalgic memory from your childhood or a more recent Halloween experience.
We strongly encourage lovers of Halloween to apply even if you don’t have prior publishing experience. From folk horror and vampires to psychological and werewolves and beyond. Think of nostalgic media that you watch every year. We want those who miss Halloween and October every year to have a way to stop and savor it every day of the month.
Submissions
Scary Stories to Tell in October
A Halloween Horror Anthology
Open call submission window: April 1st – April 30th
Extended submission window: May 1st – May 15th
(Exclusively for Disabled, Neurodiverse, BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+, and other underrepresented voices.)
We are looking for 31 flash fiction/short stories so people can spend every day of October reading a very short story.
Payment
Royalties are $31 for the story and one electronic copy of the anthology.
Word Count
Between 1,000 and 3,000 words.
What We Don’t Want
Please do not send stories involving:
– Graphic scenes of violence for the sake of violence
– Stories that promote hate speech, defamation, or racial/ethnic stereotypes
– Graphic scenes of sexual violence, especially those involving children
– Work created by or with the assistance of AI in any capacity
Failure to follow these guidelines may cause your work going unread and discarded in the future.
General Submission Guidelines
All submissions must be original and previously unpublished in any format (including your personal website, KDP, Kindle Vella, etc).
Diversity and Inclusivity Statement
Death by TBR Books encourage people with disabilities, BIPOC, women, 2SLGBTQ+ and gender expansive people, and anyone from traditionally marginalized or underrepresented communities to submit their work to us.
Content Warnings
If your work has any particular triggers for people, please let us know in your cover letter. In particular, please include content warnings about suicide, sexual assault, violence, and animal death.
Send stories to info [at] deathbytbrbooks [dot] com with the subject line: HALLOWEEN – STORY TITLE – AUTHOR NAME.
Cover letters should be included in the body of the email and be brief. Introduce yourself and the name of your story. Include word count and any relevant content warnings. All story submissions should be attached as a .doc or .docx. Please DO NOT paste the story in the body of the email.
Via: Death by TBR Books.
