Events

Submission Window: June 15th - August 31st, 2025 Payment: £100 Theme: 30,000-50,000 word stories that take place on the mysterious 13th floor! (details in the post) Note: I'm not in love with the pay per word count here but had a friend who had a story that was a perfect fit with minor tweaking so am sharing for that reason. There’s a floor that shouldn’t exist—yet it does.​ We’re Thrilled You’re Considering Submitting Your Short Story! Hidden between levels. Left off the blueprints. Sometimes sealed behind walls. The 13th Floor is a psychological horror anthology rooted in the idea of a floor that was never meant to be there—and never truly left. Some say it’s cursed. Others say it’s a threshold: a place where time frays, memories shift, and the boundaries between the living and the dead grow thin. We’re seeking three slow-burning, atmospheric novellas—each between 30,000 and 50,000 words—that explore the strange and terrifying manifestations of this floor. Think elevator rides that don’t end, rooms that remember, buildings that deny their own architecture, and people slipping through cracks in reality. This is horror for readers who love creeping dread, surreal twists, and haunted spaces that feel far too real. If you’re inspired by the tension of Stephen King, the eerie distortions of Koontz, or the uncanny quiet of Jackson—this is for you. Diversity & Inclusion At Dark Holme Publishing, we celebrate the unique power of diverse voices and perspectives in horror and dark fantasy. We actively seek submissions from authors of all backgrounds, sexualities, and genders, especially those yet to be published. Your voice matters, and we are committed to giving a platform to stories that deserve to be heard. Share your chilling tales that grip, terrify, and redefine the boundaries of the genre! What we're looking for: Genre:...

Submission Window: June 1st - August 31st, 2025 Payment: Professional rates. An advance may be paid at the discretion of the editors. Royalties percentages will be negotiated upon acceptance Themes: Speculative fiction and dark thrillers Ruadán Books will be opening for novel and novella submissions on June 1! We are looking for speculative fiction stories, dark thriller stories, and genre-bending tales that explore the darkness in all of us. If you have a complete manuscript in the dark speculative fiction, horror, mystery, or thriller genres, we want to hear from you. We accept submissions through Moksha - check below for our submission guidelines. And don’t forget to mark the date! About Ruadán Books Ruadán (pronounced ROO-ah-dawn) Books is an Independent Publisher focusing on dark thrillers and speculative fiction. We have a passion for raising up new talent as well as working with experienced authors. We especially welcome writers from marginalized demographics. Submission Guidelines for Ruadán Books Read the following submission guidelines carefully. We expect professional submissions  in order to allow our editors to review work promptly. Please note that the system will only allow you to upload ONE document, so please include ALL the required items in one .doc or .docx file. Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will automatically be rejected unread. What we are looking for: Ruadán editors want speculative fiction stories, dark thriller stories, and genre-bending tales that explore the darkness in all of us. We expect deeply flawed characters, sweeping settings, and gritty detective work. If your novel is the beginning of a series, let us know that in your cover letter. PLEASE remember that we are primarily an Entertainment Business, and that messages embedded in your work should be balanced when presented, and that deeper meanings are handled in a thoughtful manner. An abbreviated list...

Deadline: September 15th, 2025 Payment: $50 and 2 contributors copies Theme: Lesser known (lost or undiscovered) cryptids of Appalachia Cicada Books / Brood XIV Books is planning a horror anthology about the lesser (lost or undiscovered) cryptids of Appalachia. We are seeking stories about lesser known creatures from regional authors: no Mothman or Bigfoot, please. If you are a new or established fiction writer we invite you to submit your original short fiction (3-5k words) for inclusion in this anthology. We are seeking thrills, suspense, and horror! We would add weird, but it feels unnecessary for cryptid tales. The book is set to publish in late 2025. Submissions will close on September 15, 2025. Payment for accepted stories: $50 plus two copies of the print version. The book will be available at major outlets in print and e-book format, as well as sold locally. We are not seeking poetry, purely comic stories, or romance without a horror element. We may accept a limited amount of artwork; please inquire if you have art you’d like to submit. To submit; please send the entirety of your story pasted into the body of an email to [email protected]. Important: subject line must read ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION: (YOUR TITLE). If your story is not within a couple hundred words of the 3000-5000 range, please inquire first to the email address above. You do not need a cover letter or preliminary material. At the end of your submission, please include a short author bio. Via: Cicada Books.

Deadline: September 15th, 2025 Payment: $20 and 5 contributors copies Theme: Vampire and/or Werewolf themed horror stories The sun sets. With it, light fades as though it were a mere background character in a sinister plot as the stories within “After Dark, Volume 2” cast their shadows, and darkness comes to life. Campfire Publishing is excited to announce that we are currently accepting submissions for, “After Dark, Volume 2”, the second volume in our collection of Vampire and Werewolf themed horror stories! Please read below to ensure that your story will be a good fit, and feel free to reach out to us–via the form located on our main page or by sending an email to [email protected]–if you have any questions. What are we looking for? We are looking for WELL-EDITED stories close to 15,000-20,000 words that offer a horrific, bloody, or unique lens to view the subject of werewolves, vampires, or even a combination of the two!—If that’s where your creative journey leads you. Campfire Publishing is keeping its eye out for a wide range of chilling voices from seasoned to novice-we LOVE publishing and supporting newer writers(!)- that offer unique perspectives into the world of two of the most classic characters in horror. We want twists and turns, thrills and chills; make us want to sleep with the lights turned on at night. Show us excitement, culture, and blood-curdling screams! What are we NOT looking for? Erotica. A.I. Generated Material. General Submission Guidelines: Genre: Horror Word Count: 15,000-20,000—(If you need to go a bit over 20k, we understand.) Submission File Format: Please Label Your Files “ADV2” “last name” (example: “ADV2_Smith”) Formatting: 12-point font, Arial, Courier (New), Times New Roman File Type: .doc .docx .pdf— **Unfortunately we cannot accept .txt files. Compensation: Upon Acceptance $20/ story + 5 (minimum) Copies of Anthology + Additional Future Opportunities for...

Deadline: September 29th, 2025 Payment: 8 cents per word, 2 cents per word for reprints Theme: Action/adventure, general, fiction/narrative nonfiction, humor/comedy/satire, speculate (fantasy, sci fi, horror, magic realism, cyberpunk), memoir, western, romance, alternate history, suspense/thriller, mystery/crime, literary, and any cross/hybrid genres. Note: Reprints Welcome Submissions to our magazine run annually from February 2nd through September 29th Why submit to us? - WE PAY WRITERS FAIRLY. It’s hard work writing good stories, and you deserve to get paid. Or maybe you don’t and you’re just duping us? Regardless, we pay 8 cents a word (with a $500 cap), and 2 cents a word for reprints. - NO SUBMISSION FEES. Nobody's getting rich off $3 per submission, but paying money just for the privilege of receiving a form letter rejection is the worst. (Costs of running an E-zine aside) We’re going to go ahead and coin a phrase right here and now - ‘Write privilege’, get it? Of course, you do. - GET YOUR WORK IN FRONT OF A LARGE AND GROWING AUDIENCE. Our aim is fixed on telling good stories, period, and because of that we have built a massive readership from all over the globe. Want to get your stories out to more than just dear old nana? Then you've come to the right place. - REASONABLE TURN-AROUND TIME. If you haven't heard from us within 90 days, then your story was rejected. Rejections stink - we get it - but its better than forever waiting and wondering. - WORKABILITY. Is that the right term? Well, we're going with it. Unlike large publishers who view authors as just a number, we actually work with you to help present the story in its best possible light. We do, however, expect reciprocity; Story Unlikely is comprised of volunteers who are by nature team players. If you're an inflexible my way or the highway type - or...

Deadline: September 30th, 2025 Payment: Prose and poetry: 5$ + 1c/word over 500 (up to 5k) words + .2c/word over 5k words, Graphic Narrative Fiction: 5$/page, Reprints of any category: Half of above, Cover Illustration: $100 Theme: Stories about the future which feature non-traditional families Submissions are open for Home Constellations: A sci-fi anthology of unconventional bonds (working title) from Manawaker Studio, edited by CB Droege. Home Constellations is an anthology focused on stories about the future which feature non-traditional families. This volume will contain stories and poetry. THEME Submitted works should be of any genre, as long as the work depicts a world that is noticeably in the future. Hard and Soft Sci-fi, (Post-)apocalyptic, Solarpunk, Slipstream, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Alternate (future) History, Supernatural, Retro-futurism etc. are all fine names for genres that often take place in the future, but your story doesn’t have to fit into one of those. In fact, if it manages to miss all of those labels, we may be even more interested to see it (unless it thus falls into what we specifically don’t want (see next paragraph)). All works must also prominently feature a relationship or family structure which might be considered unconventional. The story doesn’t have to be about the relationship. The adventure or challenge of the story can be anything, but some prominent characters should be in a chosen family. We’re particularly looking for stories with healthy polyam relationships, but want to also include other queer structures. Send us a story of a stable triad struggling to raise their son in a Martian colony dome. Show us a gay couple exploring alien ruins. Tell us about the escaped assassin-bot and the genetically engineered hypercat who find a baby on their doorstep. Whatever else the story is about, we want it to show that each person gets to decide for...

Deadline: October 31st, 2025 Payment: .02¢ per word Theme: Tiny Terrors is our short fiction program for when a novel just won’t do. Just a short shocking scream to keep you awake at night … Tiny Terrors is our short fiction program for when a novel just won’t do. Just a short shocking scream to keep you awake at night … Graveside Press is again looking for submissions for our Tiny Terrors short fiction program. Open for Submissions : February 1, 2025 through October 31, 2025 Expected Publication : throughout 2026 Submissions Requirements Stories with approximately 2,000 – 12,000 words will be considered for our Tiny Terrors anthologies. Stories with approximately 5,000 – 15,000 words will be considered for our Tiny Terrors standalone stories. For stories longer than 15,000 words, please submit your manuscript to our General Call for Submissions. Pay rate: anthology stories: .02¢ per word remitted 90 business days after publication standalones: 50% royalties of net earnings paid quarterly 2025 TT submissions will be looking at a 2026 publication date. Via: Graveside Press.

Deadline: October 31st, 2025 Payment: $5 and a contributor copy if it goes to print Theme: Horror and almost all it contains! Details below What We Want: We are seeking 500 to 2000 word articles to post on our website. You can send one already completed or send us a proposal. The articles should be about something horror related including, but not limited to, such things as a horror movie review or discussion, a horror product or toy review or discussion, any musings on the horror genre you want to discuss or comment on, any nonfiction article related to the horror genre, horror flash fiction or poetry, and anything that would be considered an article in the horror genre that is entertaining. You could write an article on how bad the newest horror movie was. You could write a short history or analysis of an historical event, production, or person in the horror genre. You could write a philosophical analysis of the treatment of children, plants, or hats in horror movies. We’ll even post creepy flash fiction or poetry. You can write almost anything at all as long as it’s got an element of horror and it’s creative and fun. You can send art with the article for posting as well if you have accompanying artwork. All blogs posted on Burial Books website may be compiled into a book annually called The Blogs of Burial Books. So, you must be cool with this. What We Don’t Want: No porn. No book reviews since we don’t want to hurt any author’s feelings or give them too much praise and make them think they’re God. Absolutely no AI artwork or AI written articles, only humans can be published here. Word Count: Anything at least 500 words and not over 2500 words we...

Deadline: October 31st, 2025 Payment: One time payment and royalties Theme: Horror What we Want: Good horror novels at least 60,000 words. No fantasy, or science fiction. What we Don’t Want: We don’t want porn. No poetry. We don’t want pure romance stories, but of course you can have romance in the story (You know what we mean). If you don’t have a clue, then just send it anyway. Payment: Authors shall receive a one time payment and a percentage of royalties from the book. Deadline: October 31, 2025. Rules and Guidelines: Novel submissions must be over 60,000 words or we will not read it. Also, only one submission per author. If we want more than one submission from you, we will reach out to you and ask. How to Submit: Email submissions to [email protected] with the following: 1) Name, Word Count of Your Novel, and whether it’s been published before; 2) The first twenty (20) pages of your manuscript attached in Microsoft Word (if you send the entire manuscript we will only read the first 20 pages); and 3) A Query Letter attached in Microsoft Word (here is a link to How to Write a Query Letter) OR if no Query Letter then please include the following in the body of the email: a) 1-3 paragraphs about your book telling us at least what it’s about including a little detail about the plot (a short synopsis is fine too); and b) your Author Bio (tell us about yourself and what you’ve had published. Please include a link to your website or a social media profile). We try to reply within 4 to 6 weeks. Please put EXACTLY the following in the subject line: ATTN: HORROR NOVEL. Via: Burial Books.

Deadline: November 1st, 2025 Payment: Short story, $25; nonfiction/essay, $25, short-short piece under 1000 words, $10; poem, $10; artwork/photography, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Theme: Today's Onerous Task The premise (target theme) must be an integral part of the story, not necessarily the central theme but not merely incidental. NOTE: Stories longer than 20 double-spaced typewritten pages will not be considered. Indicate premise (target theme) on title page. Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover letter or on first page of manuscript. Include self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with each submission. Rejected manuscripts unaccompanied by an SASE will not be returned. Response time: 3 months after premise deadline. NO READER'S FEE. Theme and deadline: Today's Onerous Task (November 1, 2025) ALL SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, POEMS, PHOTOGRAPHS and ART MUST RELATE TO ONE OF THE PREMISES SPECIFIED ABOVE. NOTE: Previously published pieces are welcome, provided that the submission fits the theme and that the author owns the copyright. Mail to: THEMA, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747. Outside the US: email [email protected] On acceptance for publication, we will pay the following amount: short story, $25; nonfiction/essay, $25, short-short piece under 1000 words, $10; poem, $10; artwork/photography, $25 for cover, $10 for interior page display. Copyright reverts to author after publication. THEMA isn't for everyone. To find out why, click here. New to submitting manuscripts to journals? Click here to download a PDF file of a few basic guidelines. Unlike many publishers, we prefer works submitted by the authors themselves, without the involvement of an agent. Be sure to indicate premise and include SASE for each submission.  BE SURE to include a separate SASE for each premise. No handwritten manuscripts will be considered. NOTE: We do not accept e-mailed submissions EXCEPT from authors who live outside the U.S. For those living outside the U.S., submit manuscript as an email...