Deadline: March 15th 2012
Payment: Anthology Royalties are based upon distribution channel and percentage of overall content.

An Anthology of Lovecraft Inspired Short Fiction

Torn Realities is searching for stories about the places where reality is thin and easily torn, where things we accept as part of everyday life (science, religion, What Lies Beyond) become myths, and where the world is not the most important thing going. Selected stories will concern themselves with what happens to the people who find these places, for pure and impure reasons, and discover whatever lies on the other side. We want stories that will leave us unable to turn out the lights and fearful of looking up into the night sky. To quote fantasy writer Catherynne Valente, we want stories of unvarnished awesomeness.

We want stories of the darkly fantastical and how the characters involved deal with the impossible circumstances they find themselves in. We want stories that push the boundaries of accepted reality and how ordinary people deal with extraordinary, mind-bending situations of horror.

Before we go any further, let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we? A lot of these themes are Lovecraftian in nature, but this is not a Lovecraft lovefest of fan-fic (Cthulhu Mythos may be in the public domain, but it’s still fan fic). If you give us a Lovecraft pastiche with the serial numbers filed away, you’re going to be rejected. Every writer has taken on these themes–from Arthur Machen in The Great God Pan (which predates Lovecraft) to Stephen King’s short story “N”, to name just a few–and put their own stylistic stamp on them.

Now it’s your turn. We want your version of what may lie beyond the rim of the universe, beyond what we can see with our senses and our knowledge. The stories with the best shot will know what has come before them…and have the ability to take these themes into new and terrifying places.

But don’t send us “idea” stories–those tales where the situation is great and fantastic, but the characters are little more than cardboard cut-outs. We want your characters to feel and act real.

Lengths range between 2,000 to 8,000 words, but the sweet spot for this anthology is between 4,000 and 6,000. Sex, language, and violence are fine. . .as long as it’s relevant. Stories that revel in child abuse will be summarily deleted.

We do enjoy stories that apply multiple genres. If you have a sci-fi horror story that fits this theme–or mystery-horror, or fantasy-horror–send it along. The only rule with this is that it has to have horror somewhere in it. Little twee fairies being twee in the backyard of an Elder God, while clever, is not a story we’re looking for, thanks.

Anthology Royalties are based upon distribution channel and percentage of overall content.
For more information contact: [email protected]

To submit your short story for consideration: [email protected]

[via: Post Mortem Press.]