The Horror Tree Recent Markets, Articles, Interviews, and Fiction!

Articles

 by 

Ghoulish Book Festival 2025: Full Programming Schedule Announced

San Antonio’s Ghoulish Book Festival 2025: Everything You Need to Know

For horror lovers, writers, and fans of the macabre, Ghoulish Book Festival is an annual event celebrating the dark and eerie side of literature. Taking place in San Antonio, TX, the festival brings together horror authors, industry professionals, and readers for two days of panels, workshops, live readings, and interactive events. The event offers a mix of insightful discussions, book signings, and unique activities—including a spooky spelling bee and a live ghost tour.

The highly anticipated 2025 Ghoulish Book Festival is just over two weeks away, and the full programming schedule has now been revealed! Taking place on Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15, this two-day festival will offer an array of horror-focused panels, workshops, readings, and networking opportunities. If you haven’t already secured your badge, you can do so right here. A quick reminder: badges are only required for attending panels, workshops, and live readings. The vendor room and the Saturday Night Mass Author Signing will be open to the public.

(more…)

Articles / Guest Post

 by 

Read what you love, not what you think you should love

Read what you love, not what you think you should love

By Joel McKay

 

Read what you like, write what you like, not what you think you should like.

Sounds simple but it’s hard to do in practice. Let me unpack this a bit.

One of the more annoying habits of social groups—particularly in the arts, but I’ve witnessed it just the same in sports and athletics—is the impression a newbie is left with by some that they need to have a certain amount of knowledge or experiences to gain entry to the crowd.

I’ve seen this pop up in literary circles, sometimes horror, whereas readers or new writers are led to believe by some that they’re not “legit” or don’t have anything meaningful to “contribute” unless they’ve consumed certain texts, typically it’s obscure stuff but also classics such as Mary Shelley, Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft or Henry James.

(more…)

Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flat Amount

 by 

Taking Submissions: Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mystery 1889 & 1890

Deadline: Deadline for proposals is April 30th, 2025. Submission deadline for stories is June 30th, 2025.
Payment: $125 dollars and a contributor’s copy
Theme: Sherlock Holmes stories that are canonical in nature and fit the timeline below.

“When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years ’82 and ’90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave.” – Dr. Watson

Synopsis: The year 1889 was a particularly busy one for Holmes with a number of cases including The Hound (Sept. 25-Oct. 20); “The Beryl Coronet” (Feb. 19-20); “The Man with the Twisted Lip” (June 18-19);  “The Naval Treaty” (Aug. 1); “Cardboard Box” (Aug. 31- Sept. 2); “The Engineer’s Thumb.” (Sept. 7-8);  “Crooked Man” (Sept. 11-12);  and “Blue Carbuncle) (Dec. 27). Although things slowed a bit in 1890, prominent cases included “Copper Beeches” (April 5-20); “Silver Blaze” (Sept. 25-30) and “The Red-Headed League” (Oct. 9-11). But what other cases did our heroes encounter in these years? Find out in  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1889 &  Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Mysteries – 1890.

Submission Guidelines: The stories must be Canonical in nature and fit with the timeline. Holmes and Watson should act like they do in the original stories. As you can see above, a number of the original cases from this period are specifically dated, so please bear that in mind when you are writing your story.

(more…)

Events / Flash / Magazine / Semipro

 by 

Taking Submissions: Mythaxis April 2025 Submission Period (Early Listing)

Submission Window: April 23rd-30th, 2025
Payment: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum.
Theme: Diverse sci-fi and fantasy fiction.

We are open to submissions within the following periods:

  • January 23rd-30th
  • April 23rd-30th
  • July 23rd-30th
  • October 23rd-30th

Submissions received outside of these dates will unfortunately be lost and therefore not responded to. When open, we seek and offer the following:

  • Length: 1,000-5,000 words. These are firm limits. Shorter or longer works will be considered, but the further a story goes outside these bounds the more it will need to impress.
  • Compensation: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Please be aware that payment is via PayPal only.

If you do not receive an acknowledgment within 24 hours of submission, please get in touch. We aim to accept or reject within 14 days of acknowledgment, but rl (real life) and rl (reading load) can get in the way. If you do not hear from us after 30 days, feel free to query.

(more…)

Articles / For Readers / Reviews

 by 

Epeolatry Book Review: The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: The Library at Hellebore
Author: Cassandra Khaw
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Publication date: 22nd July, 2025

Synopsis: The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told after she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. But the Institute is more than just a haven for monsters. On graduation day, the faculty embark on a ravenous rampage, feasting on their students. Trapped in the school’s cavernous library, Alessa and her surviving classmates must do something they were never taught: work together. If not, this school will eat them alive.

(more…)

Articles

 by 

HarperCollins Launches Storytide: A New Imprint for Middle Grade and Teen Fiction

New HarperCollins Imprint, Storytide, to Release 30+ Middle Grade & YA Books in 2025

A fresh wave of middle grade and teen fiction is set to hit the shelves with the launch of HarperCollins’s latest imprint, Storytide. With more than 30 books scheduled for 2025, alongside a selection of backlist titles, Storytide aims to spotlight dynamic literary voices across a range of genres, including romance, contemporary fiction, and fantasy.

Leading the imprint is VP and publisher Tara Weikum, whose extensive experience in the industry has played a key role in shaping Storytide’s vision. Weikum described the imprint’s foundation by telling Publishers Weekly, “While Storytide was taking shape, we spent a lot of time focusing on what makes each of our imprints at HarperCollins unique. As the pieces fell into place, it became clear to us that the list that became Storytide, and the editors who work on these books, share a common point of view and sensibility.” (more…)

Artwork / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Non-fiction / Poetry / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

 by 

Taking Submissions: Trollbreath Magazine April 2025 Window

Submission Window: April 1st- 30th, 2025
Payment: Fiction: 4 cents per word for original works, and 1/2 cent per word for reprints. Poetry: $25 flat fee for any poem. Non-Fiction: $40. $150 for cover artwork.
Theme: Speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction of all kinds with a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms

Trollbreath Magazine is a journal of speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, publishing electronic issues on a quarterly schedule. Our interests are as varied as the endless amount of genres, from dark fantasy to hope punk to surrealism, and everything in between. We have a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms, but what motivates us most are great stories by wonderful authors eager to share their visions of the past, the future, the in between, and everything that lies outside the margins. Coloring beyond the lines encouraged. Feel free to review our already published stories and poetry to get an idea of what we like.

Stories, poems and articles will be available at the beginning of the quarter to paying members. Web Memberships give the subscriber the opportunity to read the issue on our website; eBook Memberships provide the additional right to download the issue in PDF or epub file format(s). Over the course of the quarter, a new story will be released from the paywall every Friday to the those without subscriptions, until all stories are available to the public.

(more…)

Articles

 by 

Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Dying to Live

Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Dying to Live

Welcome to “Writing Prompt Wednesdays,” a haven where your imagination can roam free in the realms of speculative fiction. As we embark on this weekly journey, it’s thrilling to think about the untold stories waiting to be penned in the domains of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Whether you’re a seasoned author or a budding wordsmith, these prompts are your gateway to unexplored worlds and untapped potentials.

Every Wednesday, we’ll serve up a fresh, thought-provoking prompt designed to ignite your creative spark and challenge your storytelling prowess. Think of these prompts as a key, unlocking the doors to uncharted territories where your creativity is the only limit. From eerie, shadow-laden corridors of Gothic horror to the farthest reaches of interstellar space, and the mystical depths of high fantasy, our prompts are a kaleidoscope of possibilities.

Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to approach these prompts. They are mere stepping stones, guiding you towards the vast landscapes of your imagination. Use them to break free from writer’s block, to experiment with new ideas, or simply as a fun exercise to keep your writing skills sharp.

This week’s writing prompt:

(more…)