Taking Submissions: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night... A Horror Cliché Parody Edited by Shane McKenzie With Introduction by Jeff Strand (Tentative) Submission Deadline: 28 Feb 2011 To submit, please use our ONLINE SUBMISSIONS MANAGER. Our standard writer’s guidelines apply. Clichés. As horror writers, we have all been warned to avoid them at all costs. Whether your character is trapped in a shack in the woods surrounded by zombies while his partner slowly deteriorates from the bite he got on the arm during their struggle out of the military camp where the virus started when a scientist knocked over a vial... Or your character is a vampire that is depressed about being alone for eternity, staring forlornly out of his castle window, sipping a virgin’s blood from a wine glass… Or a serial killer’s story told through first person point of view where we get to see into his sick mind as he hacks his teenage, female, prostitute cheerleader victims into bits, all the while thinking back on his abused childhood and how his druggy parents beat and raped him. You know, the usual. Clichés have been so widely used that even avoiding them has become a cliché of its own. And don’t even get me started on the twist endings. It was all a dream, right? Well, Pill Hill Press is giving you the chance to stab these clichés in the stomach and twist the blade. We want you to lay into them, really have fun with it. We are looking for comedic, slapstick stories that poke fun at these aphorisms; let out all that aggression you’ve built up as a horror writer working around these clichés. The more ridiculous, the better. Make me laugh. All horror fans have a natural sense of humor, so bring it out and have...
Taking Submissions: Rhonny Reaper’s Roadkill Cafe
Rhonny Reaper's Roadkill Cafe Working Title: Rhonny Reaper's Roadkill Cafe Publisher: Knightwatch Press Release Date: TBA "Rhonny Reaper's Roadkill Cafe" is an upcoming horror anthology with a twisted theme. Tales of horror, shock, terror...and roadkill! Each story will be a unique and grotesque ride through dark and disturbing images of twisted, mangled, and maybe even a few undead squirrels, raccoons, and the occasional deer. What we want: We are looking for short/flash fiction horror stories between 1,500 and 3,000 words pertaining to the Roadkill theme of the book. Any plot that is horror themed and involving roadkill is acceptable except for sexual content including but not limited to rape, and sexual torture of any kind. Murdered animals getting revenge, zombie raccoons, roadkill suicide...be creative! What rights do we want? First publishing rights, the right to use the story for as long as there is demand for the book, the right to edit each story for any missed grammatical errors, and the right to use parts of the book and the author's name for promotion. You will keep all other rights and can republish the story anytime you choose. What you get: All authors will receive a copy of the book as payment. How your stories should be sent: All entries MUST be a .doc file. Emails with submissions sent in any other format will be replied with a request to convert the file into a .doc format. Title, Author's Name, Word Count, and Author's Email MUST be on the first page. The stories should be edited to the best of your ability but they will be looked over for any missed grammatical errors. The story should be single-spaced. Where to send it: Send all submissions via email to [email protected] with the subject line "Story Submission: Title of story" When to...
Taking Submissions: Attack Of The 50 Ft Book
Attack Of The 50 Ft Book DAMN STRAIGHT! From Godzilla to Stay Puft, Cthulhu to the Iron Giant, giant monsters have been portrayed as everything from saviours of mankind to the ultimate destructors, and even tragic, misunderstood figures. Now we're asking YOU to send us your best giant monster stories! Reference points: Godzilla / King Kong / Lovecraft / Deep Rising / Night of the Crabs / Steve Niles' Giant Monster/ Kingdom of the Ants / The Relic / You get the idea... Giant robots are more than welcome, but remember this is coming out under the Fantasy imprint so your best bet is to avoid using spaceships/aliens/distant planets. Sword n Sorcery/High Fantasy is of course also welcome, but try to avoid obvious staples of those genres. WORD COUNT: A firm 3K - 7K PAYMENT: 1cent p/word + 1 contributor copy DEADLINE: 1st March 2011 (so plenty of time to submit something ) FORMAT: Times New Roman or Courier 12pt font, please. One press of the TAB to indent a new paragraph. Double-spaced. Italics should be italics NOT underlined, please. NO headers or footers except on first page . Please, please don't use any fancy formatting as it drives me absolutely nuts (eg extra space between paragraphs, coloured “attention-grabbing” fonts, etc). OTHER STUFF: NO multiple subs. NO reprints. Simultaneous submissions are a-okay with me, provided you do me the courtesy of telling me if it gets accepted elsewhere. Send all submissions to [email protected] and I’ll send you a needlessly exuberant ‘Story received!!!’ email. If you don’t get one within 4 days of submitting, please query. Please don’t query as to the status of your story until after the deadline, because if there’s one thing guaranteed to crumble my biscuits it’s impatient little monkeys ;) Having said that, I’m going to...
Taking Submissions: Urban Horror
Urban Horror The fine editors over at Morpheus Tales have let us know about this anthology that they are putting together. Under the city lights, unforeseen danger can erupt at any moment. As we learn from the news each day, monsters do exist, ones with human faces, and they walk among us. On a crowded street corner or waiting quietly in a bustling subway, could we ever recognize them? Some whisper of curious urban legends and supernatural horrors hidden beneath the city's visible surface, but is there truth to them? City nights. Urban nightmares. What terrors stalk the city streets and alleys of your imagination? You may use any city, real or fictional, but the setting must be urban, and the horrific element must be present. Submissions should be 500-3,000 words in length, and one submission at a time. Attach submissions as a Word or RTF file, and include "Urban Horror" in the title of the email. Contributor copies will be pdf ebooks. This special issue will be sold via ebook and print-on-demand services. Please send submissions as word documents. All material should be in standard manuscript format: 12 point Times Roman, left justified, 1" margins all around, double spaced, paragraph indents, no space between paragraphs, with a header on each page giving your name, the title or a short form of it, and the page number. Deadline: March 1st 2011 Please send all submissions to: [email protected]
Taking Submissions: Through The Worm Hole
Through The Worm Hole Editors : Wayne Goodchild &Bill Tucker We want your most gnarly, whacked-out and downright mondo science fiction stories. We want you to really cut loose and give us scenarios we've never seen before. We don't want to see any obvious staples like 'people answer a distress call to find a spaceship drifting empty through space...or is it?!' or 'a new friendly alien race turn out to be evil' or anything like that. Be fresh, be creative, be utterly mental. We're also not after bizarre - but you are encouraged to take your story as far as it can go before it actually becomes that genre (i.e. surreal, but still grounded in reality). Other than that, the usual genres are welcome, and stories can be set anywhere or anywhen, provided it's fundamentally science fiction. Word limit: a very firm 4K - 7K words Payment: 1 cent p/word + 1 contributor copy NO reprints NO multiple submissions Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please do us the courtesy of letting us know if your story gets accepted elsewhere. Format: Put name/by-line, approx word count, postal address and email address at the top of the first page. NO headers on any other pages, please. Indent by 1 press of the TAB key to start a new paragraph. NO fancy formatting. Sometimes people have their writing software set up so it adds extra space between lines and/or paragraphs. Please remove anything like this, as it's really annoying. Thank you! Other than this, usual Shunn manuscript rules apply. Send submissions to [email protected] Deadline is March 1st 2011
Taking Submissions: Live and Let Undead
Live and Let Undead Shoot 'em in the head? Not always. What about actually using the living dead as baggage handlers, guard dogs, workers in nuclear power plants, bait for fishermen, and so on? I'm looking for different slants on using the shambling masses to benefit the living. Stories may range from humorous (the movie, “Fido” or the end of “Shawn of the Dead”) to horrific representations of servitude and slavery. Please mention in your cover letter any genre twists (comedy-horror, war, science fiction, etc.) and any publication history. All acceptances and rejections will be sent out “after” the deadline. DEADLINE: March 07, 2011 WORD COUNT: 4,000 – 9,000 words PAYMENT: 1 cent per word + 1 contributor's copy REPRINTS: No MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: Limit of 2, Maximum of 1 accepted SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: No FORMAT: Standard Manuscript Format (click here for an example). FONT: Times New Roman size 12 TAB INDENT: ½ inch SPACING: Double Space PAGE NUMBERING / HEADERS: No page numbers or headers CONTACT INFORMATION: Place contact information in the top left of the first page (Name, Address, Phone Number and E-Mail). Place approximate word count at the top right of the first page. Send the story to [email protected] with the story title, your name and approximate word count in the subject line. Confirmation e-mails will be sent out within a week of receiving your submission. Questions may be posted here or emailed to the aforementioned address (place the words “Anthology Question” in the subject line).
Contest: Win an Editorial Review from Suvudu
At Suvudu, we’re aware that getting your work into the hands of a professional editor can be a major hurdle in the road to publication. Many New York publishers do not accept submissions except from literary agents. That’s why we’re making available this limited opportunity to put your best manuscript of science fiction, fantasy, horror, or paranormal romance into consideration by the Del Rey/Spectra staff. Del Rey/Spectra through Suvudu will be accepting submissions from now through March 18, 2011, of previously unpublished manuscripts of no more than 150,000 words. Over the next few months, they will be judged on the basis of originality, creativity, and writing style. The top submission will receive a full edit of the submitted work by Betsy Mitchell, Editor-in-Chief of Del Rey Publishing, and the story will be considered for publication. Three runners-up will receive a set of Del Rey/Spectra titles selected by Suvudu. When you’re ready to submit, click here to fill out the entry form. Once you’ve done so, you’ll receive an e-mail from Suvudu. Send your submission in response to the e-mail to enter the contest. Click here for official contest rules. The winners will be announced on May 18, 2011. Contest is from January 18, 2011 to March 18, 2011 (EST), and open only to legal residents of the United States, excluding Puerto Rico, who are age 18 and over as of January 18, 2011. Void wherever prohibited or restricted by law. Sponsor: Suvudu.com, a website of Random House, Inc.
Taking Submissions: Made You Flinch–Again!
Made You Flinch--Again! DEADLINE: March 21st 2011 PAYMENT: 1 cent per word and 1 contributor copy Edited by Jonathan Moon and Bill Tucker Looking for original, previously unpublished horror stories that would fit the title. Be creative, let your imagination run wild, and be scary. RTF Attachment No headers/page numbers Word count is 3k - 6k Please include your name, address, phone number, email address and approximate word count on title page Send submissions to [email protected] Last day to submit is March 21st 2011 Payment is 1 cent per word and 1 contributor copy
Taking Submissions: ZombAlert Flash Fiction Contest
ZombAlert Flash Fiction Contest DEADLINE: March 30th 2011 PRIZE: $50 GC Rules: email ZombAlert your story (500-1500 words) along with your name & best contact email address by March 30th. Stories must include our ZombAlert pendants. Prizes: We will choose the top 10 stories, and will publish each of these on our website. In addition the top 3 stories will receive a ZombAlert pendant of their choice. The 1st place story will also receive a $50 gift certificate to Optimystical Studios that can be redeemed for products on our website, our Etsy store or at our booth at an upcoming show. The Fine Print: You retain the rights to your story, however by submitting to the contest you agree to allow us to publish your entry, name and/or photograph, in whole or in part for advertising, promotion & posterity. Family members of Optimystical Studios may enter but cannot win. All desisions are final, no critiques will be given.
Taking Submissions: Malicious Malpractices
Malicious Malpractices The Library of Horror is seeking original horror stories featuring Mad Doctors, Medical Science, Surgeries Gone Wrong. Be creative and scary! Creepy and scream worthy! Think outside the box on this one! This will cover ALL medical fields.... conventional, dentistry, elective, etc... Word Count: A strict 3 - 6K RTF Attachment Courier Font 12 Indent Paragraphs 1 Tab Single Spaced No Headers/Page Numbers Use Italics, no underlining No Multiple Subs No Reprints Send submission to [email protected] Include your Name, Address, Phone Number,Email Address and Approximate Word Count on title page. I will send a confirmation email when I receive your sub. Payment is 1 Cent per word and 1 Contributer Copy. Last Day for submissions is Mar 31
