The following guidelines outline how to submit novels and novellas.

Note: Tor/Forge Books’ submission information is here, and Tor.com’s submission information is here. To learn more about the Tor/Forge, Tor.com, and Nightfire editorial teams, check here.

What We’re Looking For:

The Nightfire team is looking for novels and novellas across the breadth of the horror genre—from the cosmic and Lovecraftian; to the beloved undead tropes of zombies, ghosts, and slashers; to the more uncanny and internal terrors of isolation, lost love, and aging.

We are actively looking for submissions from writers from underrepresented populations. This includes, but is not limited to, writers of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, class, and physical or mental ability. We believe that good stories reflect the incredible diversity and potential of the human species, and want our catalog to show that.

We encourage you to listen to our free audio anthology, Come Join Us By the Fire, to get a sense of our vision and tastes.

Good luck—we look forward to reading your work!

What We’re Not Looking For:

Nightfire does not accept works that have been previously published elsewhere, in any venue. This includes all forms of digital self-publishing.

We are currently not looking for unsolicited nonfiction projects or short story collections.

We do not accept works that are not identifiable as horror. We are, of course, open to works that straddle genres (e.g. dark fantasy, psychological thrillers), but your work must fit into the horror realm.

We are not currently interested in tie-in fiction. This includes fiction that exists within worlds established in previously published novels, or that relies upon a knowledge of previously published novels.

We do not accept multiple submissions. If you have more than one novel or novella, you may only submit one at a time. During our open submission period, you may submit another once we have responded to your first submission.

We prefer that you not simultaneously submit your work to Nightfire and other venues. If you do, however, and your work is accepted by a different venue, please immediately withdraw your submission from Nightfire. You can do so by emailing [email protected] with your story title, date submitted, and byline. Please make sure “Withdrawal” is in your subject line.

Additional FAQs:

What we pay:

• For novels: We offer an advance against royalties, the size of which will depend on a number of factors, including the length of your work and how commercial we think it is.
• For novellas: We, as above, offer an advance against royalties. For novellas, however, we also offer a royalty-only option. If we decide to make you an offer, you will be free to choose between the two.

What rights does that give you?

• For novels: Our contract covers the right to publish the work in print, audio, and ebook formats, worldwide, in all languages. Additional rights will be discussed if we decide to make you an offer.
• For novellas: Our contract covers the right to publish the work in print, audio and ebook formats, worldwide, in English.

How to Submit:

When we are open, please submit your novels or novellas through the form at https://nightfire.moksha.io/publication/nightfire. Once you’ve registered there you can also use that portal to check the status of your submission.

Due to the volume of submissions we receive during our open periods, we will respond within 9 months. If you’ve received a confirmation email, your work has been received and there is no need to contact us to check. Please do not send your work until you feel it is ready to be read. We will not be accepting “updated” versions of the same work once submitted. Do not be concerned if your submission doesn’t seem to be moving up the queue, as we don’t read in order of submission.