Events

Deadline: July 31, 2012 Payment: 2 cents per word, paid within 90 days after publication. Contributor copy of print and ebook (can choose between .epub or .mobi/Kindle versions) What is Erotica? Erotica is literature or art intended to arouse sexual desire. It is not mature content, which is understood to have sexual arousal as its main purpose. Erotica includes a sexual aspect but it is only one part of the larger aesthetic. In other words, writing erotica is not about graphic descriptions of people having sex, it’s about making your reader want to have sex. It’s a tease, a flirt, a seduction … Who is Cthulhu? H.P. Lovecraft wrote smart, surreal, supernatural horror stories in the early 20th century. Cthulhu is one of several fictional creatures created by Lovecraft in the early 20th century. Lovecraft’s stories, and some of the works of his followers, outline what we now call the “Cthulhu Mythos”. Mythos characters include both the monsters and the men who discovered them. Cthulhurotica is the place where sex and madness meet. What are we hoping to get from Volume 2? We want to expand on the first book, without discarding any of it. The stories from Cthulhurotica are bold, sexy, creepy, empowering and frightening. What we’re looking for now is more … We want stories which use more of Lovecraft’s settings and characters. We’ve got Innsmouth and Arkham, but what about the mountains, the Artic, aboard the Emma? We met Nyarlathotep, the Mi Go, and the King in Yellow, but what about Ithaqua, or the Hounds of Tindalos? Tell us about Charles Dexter Ward’s neighbor, or the secretary in Professor Peaslee’s office. What if Richard Upton Pickman painted pinup girls too? There is so much, both in Lovecraft’s work and in the associated Mythos stories by other authors,...

Deadline: August 1st, 2012 Payment: $25/story and 2-Copies of the Anthology "The Inanimates I" Anthology Submission Guidelines All manuscripts should be in Microsoft Word and should be double spaced with an extra space between each paragraph. There should be no indention at the start of each paragraph. Word Count: 3500 to 15,000 words "The Inanimates I" is a Horror/Dark Fantasy/Weird Tales Anthology Each submission should have a main character which is an inanimate object, but has all the feelings, fears, and emotions of a human. Dolls and Dummies have been done to death in stories like these and have 0% chance at success, in this anthology. To keep variety in the flow of the anthology, only a small percentage of stories told from 1st Person view point will be accepted. Creepy, Terrifying, and Unique tales have the best chance at acceptance. Our submission period for the anthology is open from April 1st, 2012 to August 1st, 2012. Send to: [email protected] with "The Inanimates Submission" in the subject box.

Deadline: August 1, 2012 Payment: 1/4 penny for each word Trinity Gateways is now taking submissions for our first anthology! We are currently looking for short stories for the horror anthology titled Shadows of the Mind, which will be published as an e-book with the option to print. Please read through requirements and guidelines thoroughly prior to submission. Payment will be 1/4 penny for each word. Story Requirements It must be of the horror genre; we are most interested in stories that will disturb the reader. Graphic language/scenes are okay as long as integral to the story; No gratuitous sex scenes or shock-effect vulgarity. Nothing “X” rated. It must be edited prior to submission Minimum Word Count: 1,000 Maximum Word Count: 6,000 Final Submission Deadline: August 1, 2012, or until Submissions are Closed Trinity Gateways Formatting Guidelines Document file type must be either Miscrosoft Word (1997-2003, 2007, or 2010) or Open Source; no other file type will be accepted Font Type: Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial Font Size: 12 pt All margins must be set to one inch (1″) Entire document must be double-spaced Text must be Left Justified (aligned to the left) Do not indent paragraphs with tabs or spaces No extra spaces (hard returns) between paragraphs Use two (2) spaces between sentences rather than one (1) Section breaks are to be marked with centere *** Title page must be included in the story file submitted, and must feature:No headers, footers, or page numbers Contact information (real name & valid e-mail address at minimum) in the top right hand corner Word count listed in the top left hand corner Story title centered midway down the page The word “by” one (1) line (double-spaced) below the title The author’s name or by-line (pen name) one (1) line (double-spaced) below...

Deadline: Aug. 1, 2012 Payment: Payment: Stories that are 3,999 words and under will be for exposure only. Stories that are 4,000 words and above will receive one paperback contributor copy as payment. Glimpses of Insanity Edited By Eloise J. Knapp Deadline: Aug. 1, 2012 Target Release Date: Oct. 3, 2012 How to Submit: Send submissions to [email protected] with “Glimpses of Insanity” (story title and author name)” in subject line. Please attach a WORD document file containing your story. Please use Times New Roman, size 10 font and please DO NOT double space or use headers or page counts. Page one of the file must contain your contact information (title of your disorder, name, mailing address, E-mail and word count) If any of these items are missing from your document, I will reject right away. If this information is there, it makes it easier for me to contact you. What we are looking for: We know about schizophrenia and Stockholm syndrome, but what about the truly odd and morbidly bizarre psychological disorders? What about Apotemnophiliaor Capgras Delusion? We are looking for stories with some amount of medical accuracy and, above all, dark exploration of these strange mental phenomenon. Stories should feature only one disorder and be of a horror/thriller nature.These stories will require basic research of a bizarre mental disorder and a plot, but beyond that let your imagination take you where it desires. Unacceptable themes: schizophrenia, Stockholm syndrome, pedophilia, necrophilia, multiple personality disorder, depression, bi-polar disorder. Payment: Stories that are 3,999 words and under will be for exposure only. Stories that are 4,000 words and above will receive one paperback contributor copy as payment. What rights we ask for: Exclusive Anthology Rights and Electronic Media Rights for publication in the US English language anywhere in the world. Exclusive rights...

Deadline: August 1st 2012 Payment: 1 cent a word plus a contributors copy You were warned…but you just didn’t listen! So after the horrific success of D.O.A., we have decided to please the masses by releasing a second volume. Volume II will be a more disturbing anthology (if that’s even possible), unsuitable for the easily offended, disgusted, or those prone to vomiting. We want stories, 750 – 5,000 words, that push the limits. The stranger and gorier the better. If you read the first installment, than you know that no subject is too taboo. However, we’re looking for you to exploit a lesser know taboo. Keep in mind that we are not simply looking for torture or scenes of gratuitous violence lacking a point or direction. Blood and guts only work if there is a great story and creative twists to back it up. Imagine that the band Cannibal Corpse got together with Richard Matheson and penned a story. The result would be D.O.A. Think Edward Lee, think Bizarro, think…well, you get the picture. So if you ever had a story idea that you felt was too extreme or offensive for a sane publisher, send it our way. We want your worst! Accepted stories will be paid a rate of 1 cent a word plus a contributors copy. Stories will be accepted from May 1, 2012 until August 1, 2012. We will not make final selections until the end of the submission period. Please do not query about the status of your submission until September 1, 2012. Send submissions to [email protected]. Subject should read: “D.O.A. II: story title/author last name”

Deadline: August 12th 2012 Payment: Charity Anthology - Exposure Only ‘Fear’ will be published, through us, in time for Halloween 2012. We’re looking for around twenty full, original and previously unpublished stories of terror, each around 4000 words in length. We won’t accept anything with fewer than 1500 words. If you think your story has what it takes, submit it to us at [email protected] with the words, HALLOWEEN ANTHOLOGY, in the subject line. Stories should be generally suitable for a broad adult audience. Scary, but not too graphic. Author and Publisher royalties will go completely to charity and, if accepted, your story will be published, in print and in e-format, as a part of the Anthology, across Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the iTunes BookStore from October 2012. The two charities benefiting are the independent humanitarian medical aid organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and the anti child poverty, fostering, and anti child exploitation charity, Barnardo’s. We can only accept submissions up until midnight PST on Sunday 12th August 2012. All authors will be contacted throughout August and September.

Deadline: August 14th, 2012 Payment: Contributor's Copy The Pitch: Almost two hundred thousand years ago, HomoSapiens fought a war against the HomoHelmei for the coastal passages out of Africa. Although modern man won, the deadly virus that had infected the HomoHelmei infected the early migrants. The disease lay dormant in their DNA until the year 2012. Every descendant of those migrants, from India to China to the United States has been infected. All will die. The only survivors are the children of the Africans who did not migrate, whose DNA did not contain the virus. There is no test, no method of determining who will live and who will die to rise again as the living dead. If you're dark skinned, there is no hope. If not, you have 24 hours to live. The Truth: There are tons of zombie stories out there. Most of them create a lame back story and dive right into the killing and slaughter. I decided if I was going to do my own version, it had to be done differently. Using the retroviruses and genetic differences between the racial groups on Earth, I had a basis for an idea. It is important to tell stories that have cultural relevance, that touch upon issues of the day and explore themes we may not be comfortable talking about. Such as race issues. The comic industry has a lack of characters of color. It is primarily a white industry run by white people creating books about white characters. At the very least I wanted to create a property with an all black cast. One that didn't have anything to do with sports or crime. THE ANTHOLOGY: As a way to promote the book I will be publishing a novel anthology of short stories. Any interested writers should...

Dedline: August 15th 2012 Payment: shared royalties plus one eBook and one print contributor’s copy. Once in a while a random idea strikes me at an inopportune moment, like just before the movie begins at the theatre. That’s what happened with this one. Luckily, I remembered it and decided to do an anthology. This one is a little different than the ones we’ve done before, as I’m looking for stories with a strong sci-fi theme mixed with horror. The premise is a future society that dehumanizes its population. What if, in order to receive welfare (Medicaid, food stamps, the dole—for those of you across the Atlantic) you had to be put on a national donor’s registry? And what if someone who wasn’t on welfare needed an organ and you were the only match? Yes, imagine a government that makes citizens pay for their aid in one way or another. And that’s what I’m looking for—stories set in a not so distant future gone horribly wrong. I already have a few stories for the anthology, one by the incomparable Gene O’Neill. Length should be 3000 to 8000 words. If the story is longer, please query. If you have any questions, please feel free to query also. Deadline is August 15th and the proposed date of publication is November 10th, conveniently planned to coincide with the inevitable dissatisfaction of the US presidential election. (I mean one side’s always disgruntled, right?) So reread Orwell’s 1984 and Bradbury’s 451 Fahrenheit and then attempt to top them. Send your submissions to [email protected]. Please refer to our submission guidelines for proper formatting. Subs which are not properly formatted or do not include a cover letter will be returned unread.

Deadline: August 20th 2012 Payment: Payment: One contributor copy. All profit from this anthology will be donated to Downs Syndrome charities. Copies will be available for cost as long as you donate profit received to a Downs Syndrome charity organization of your choice. Chiral Mad is an anthology of psychological horror tentatively scheduled for publication by Written Backwards in November of 2012. It will contain twenty or more short stories by established authors and newcomers from around the world. Submissions will be open to the public starting May 16th with a listing appearing on duotrope.com soon. To submit a story for consideration, please see the guidelines below. Cover artwork in progress. Click the image for higher resolution. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Twenty highly-regarded peers were selected for the initial invitation into this anthology, along with the twenty whose work appeared in Pellucid Lunacy. As stories are accepted, author names will appear on the “OFFICIAL LINE-UP” section on the top right of this page. Invited authors with submissions in the works will appear in the “UNOFFICIAL” section below that. Open submissions for Chiral Mad commence May 16th and will stay open until August 20th, or until filled. What’s acceptable? Fiction that disturbs the nonlinear fabric(s) of reality. Mindbenders in the range of 1000 to 5,000 words that could not only be classified as horror, but as psychological horror with chirality in mind. This anthology suits stories that push the limits of the human condition. The keyword being ‘human.’ Strong character development is a must, and all stories must have some element of chirality, whether it’s in character reflection, physical and/or mental symmetry, structure, or any other way you can manage. Look at your left hand; look at your right hand; now put them together… that’s chirality. Share something important with the rest of...

Deadline: August 20, 2012 Payment: An eBook copy will be sent to all contributors and up to 5 paperback copies per author will be available to purchase at cost. 50% of the royalties will be distributed between all contributors. We’ve all come across them. The warnings told by a friend of a friend - be careful! Some ghastly end met while undertaking a dare, don’t go in there, that’s the Devil’s Gate! Or perhaps your mind leaps to the cryptofiction realm - Bigfoot, the Chupacabra, or monstrous alligators roaming the sewers under New York City! Wherever your mind takes you, we want to come along for the ride. Ensure your story is dark and edgy, preferably full of horror - we want the reader to be too scared to step off the beaten path and wander into realms unknown. All urban legends are open for interpretation; just be sure to add the requisite elements of horror. Deadline for Submissions: August 20, 2012 Word count minimum: 4000 words - nothing less will be considered. Submission guidelines: Deadline for submissions - Monday, August 20, 2012. 4000 - 10,000 words. Please submit your manuscript as a *.doc or *.docx file in Verdana; 12 point font; single spacing and standard formatting. Graphic gore must be kept to a minimum unless it is integral to the story; absolutely no incestuous or sexual abuse storylines will be considered. Only stories previously unpublished may be submitted. Upon acceptance into the anthology, you agree that Sirens Call Publications holds exclusive publishing rights for twelve (12) months from the date of publication; after that date has passed, all intellectual property rights revert to the author with the proviso that Sirens Call Publications retains distribution rights in the format of the contracted anthology. An eBook copy will be sent to...