Submission Window: June 15th – July 15th, 2025
Payment: $25
Theme: All subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role).

SLUGGER is the creative effort of two horror writer pals.

Send us: 

• In general, we are open to all subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role).
• Body horror tickles our fancy the most if we had to pick a subgenre, but SLUGGER will be open to all horror stories.
• We love subversive and transgressive fiction. Anything that fits the punk ethos is likely to get our attention.
• Stories can be speculative or not.
• Our guidelines may change over time, but we are open to the full spectrum of genre to literary fiction, conventional storytelling to experimental, and plot driven to vibes only.

Do NOT send us:

• Bigotry (racism, sexism, genderism, ableism, fatphobia, homophobia, transphobia, you get the idea). It’s fine to explore these topics, especially when a horrible character gets what’s coming to them. But hate for the sake of hate will not be accepted.
• Exploitive sexual violence.
• Erotica/graphic sexual content.
• Classic tropes such as vampires, werewolves, etc. are not a hard sell, but the story needs to stand out.
• No fanfiction.

The Details:

• Word count: 1,000-4,000
• Simultaneous submissions: YES. If your piece is accepted elsewhere, please email us at [email protected] so that we can congratulate you and withdraw your story from consideration.
• Multiple submissions: NO. Please only submit one story per submission period.
• Reprints: NO. Original fiction only please.
• Use of artificial intelligence: ABSOLUTELY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
• Payment: $25 per accepted story. We hope to increase payment to writers depending upon the success of SLUGGER. Each story will have an original black and white illustration designed by a university student.
• Formatting:
  • Include story title and word count in the document.
  • Do not include name in the document (nor phone number or home address).
  • Get it close to Shunn format (double spaced, readable font, word count and title on first page) and submit away.
  • .doc and .docx files only please (PDFs or a story copied and pasted into an email will be deleted unread).
  • Content warnings: Please place on the last page of the document.
• Rights: World English first rights for digital and print publication. Exclusivity for 6 months. Please acknowledge SLUGGER with first publication credit. All copyright remains with the author. Contract will be provided.
• Response times: We aim for no later than 45 days after the submission window closes. Please give us a little grace, but please feel free to email us (subject line: QUERY) at [email protected] if you haven’t heard anything 60 days after the close of the submission window.
• Artwork: We are closed to artwork submissions.

Overview of the process:

• The first round of review will be anonymous and may involve one or multiple first readers. Submissions will be narrowed down for further consideration and names will be linked to stories. Final decisions will be made by the editors.

The link to submit will be found at the top of the Via link below:

Via: Slugger.