Deadline: August 31st 2012
Payment: All contributors are will be paid £3.00 for every 150 copies of their respective anthology sold. This payment is cumulative, meaning that, if a given anthology sells 300 copies, each contributor will receive £6.00, if it sells 450 copies, each contributor will receive £9.00 and so on. This applies to all sales of the anthology, in every format. Royalties will be payable for the first two years of the book’s existence.

Cruentus Libri Press is pleased to announce its forthcoming anthology, now open for submission.

The Dark Side of the Womb: From Their Cradle to Your Grave is a horror anthology themed around those scariest of monsters – children.

WHAT WE WANT

Terrifying toddlers and chill-inducing children; Satanic sons and demonic daughters; bloodthirsty babies and…well, you get the idea. We want tales of terror that revolve around young kids, preferably under the age of ten. The children can be innocent victims, or monstrous villains or some splendid blending of the two, but they must be the focal point.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

Two words – sexual abuse. We don’t expect the children in your stories to live in a world of sunshine and lollipops – far from it – but this is not a theme we want to explore in this anthology. It can be alluded to, suggested, even mentioned – but once it becomes the focus of the story, out it goes. Sexual abuse of a child is one of the most abhorrent things in the world and for that very reason it’s a strict no-no. Let them be torn apart by zombies, sacrificed to one of the Great Old Ones or destroy whole cities every time they fill their nappy (any parents will know what we mean by that last one) – we just don’t want any depiction of sexual abuse.

This is a horror anthology intended for an adult audience. Whilst we have no qualms about including sex (apart from that described in the above paragraph), violence and swearing in the stories, don’t make it gratuitous – ask yourself whether the scene in question adds to the story or if it is simply there to shock.

THE RULES

First, check out our Writer’s Guidelines and, specifically, that part pertaining to Anthology Submissions. They should tell you all you need to know about sending us your work.

Word Count: 2500-7500 words. Whilst we will accept some leeway in this word count, don’t be sending us flash fiction or novellas, as they will be returned unread.

Reading Period: 01 June 2012 to 31 August 2012.

Reprints: Yes

Multiple Submissions: No.

Simultaneous Submissions: We understand that writers want to find a home for their work and, as such, we have no problem with sending your story to other markets as well as our own. We ask only that you inform us if your story gets accepted elsewhere before the end of the reading period, so that we can remove it from our slushpile.

Payment: This anthology is a paying market, paying shared royalties based on sales. Please see our royalty guide here for details.

Rights: Cruentus Libri Press request One Time Print and Electronic Publishing Rights for each story published. This means that, once your story is published with us, thereafter it can only be marketed as a reprint. This can limit the number of markets that will accept it, as many publications will not accept reprints and those that do may offer a reduced pay rate as a consequence. Please bear this in mind when submitting your story for inclusion in this anthology.

Once you’re satisfied with your entry and you’re sure it meets the guidelines, submit it as an attachment to [email protected]

[via: Cruentus Libri Press]