Theme: Not so long ago, human beings were cursed with fear. They clamored for hope in a world of boundless suffering and death. They called out to the heavens and summoned gods. They crafted religions that would serve as a candle against the howling night.

That which alights must also burn.

A zealot spits venomous words from his pulpit, his congregation listening and nodding, their disgust with their neighbors boiling into a riotous rage. A girl returns from Bible Camp nine-months pregnant with God’s child—images of a golden flame pressing on her chest, paralyzing her, flood her nightmares. Heaven replaces its angels with automata, dispensing salvation and damnation with callous efficiency.

Book of Blasphemous Words is a weird fiction, horror, and speculative fiction anthology about humanity’s relationship with its gods. When we answer the call for salvation from the bondage of the material—when we believe in gods—we reach a hand into the unknown and risk losing it to something peckish. When we forget the power of the hearth, we risk a conflagration that can return civilization to the dirt whence it has come.

Simultaneous Submissions: Sure, but please let us know immediately if it was accepted somewhere else.

Multiple Submissions: Yes

Reprints: Yes, but let us know where it has been previously printed and make sure you have the rights to have it reprinted.

Word Count: Up to 10k words.

Formatting: This is a very good guide if you have any questions. You can’t really go wrong with it. But, if you don’t feel like reading that, here’s the down and dirty of it.

• Italicize italics. Do not underline
• Don’t use spaces to lead paragraphs. Use tab or, even better, the formatting options to get the indent.
• For scene breaks, use either “#” or “***”.
• Use an easy to read font, like Arial or Times New Roman in a reasonable size (about 12 point).
• Double space your work.

Submission

Please make sure to include a synopsis of the piece in your cover letter. If you’re not sure how to do that, here’s a good collection of articles to learn from. Yes, even it’s poetry or flash. Just a quick line or two helps us out a lot.

Aside from that, just be yourself. Tell us anything you think we should know about you or your work. What inspired you to write this? How did you find us? What’s your favorite part about this work? Who inspires you?

Once you’ve done all that, go ahead and click this button: