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

Events / Magazine / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: Heartlines Spec Winter 2023 Window

Submission Window: December 1st – 31st, 2023
Payment: $0.08 CAD per word
Theme: short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships in any genre (though they prefer uplifting so probably better for Scifi/Fantasy.)
Note: Looking for at least 50% Canadian authors

We’re looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don’t want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years.

Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that’s ok.

We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules.

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Articles / Interviews

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The Spooky Six Interview Returns with C.M. Saunders and Willow Croft!

Instead of my usual cuppa tea, I’m joining C.M. Saunders in drinking pots and pots of coffee, mainly to fuel not only my Horror Tree writing bits, but school and moving and cat rescue…and, well, you get the idea. Let’s get onto the interview; it’s more interesting, for sure!

 

Chris Saunders (he/him), who writes fiction as C.M. Saunders, is a writer and editor from South Wales. Since gaining a degree in journalism, he has worked extensively in the publishing industry and held desk jobs ranging from staff writer to associate editor. He is currently employed at a trade magazine. His fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, ezines and anthologies worldwide including The Literary Hatchet, Crimson Streets, 34 Orchard, Phantasomagoria, Dead Harvest, Burnt Fur and DOA volumes I and III, while his books have been both traditionally and independently published, his latest release being the Wretched Bones: A Ben Shivers Mystery, on Midnight Machinations, an imprint of Grinning Skull Press.

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Anthology / Events / Pro

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Taking Submissions: Elemental Forces

Deadline: November 14th, 2023
Payment: 8 cents per word
Theme: Unthemed horror anthology

A New Collection of Horror Stories

We are very excited to open submissions for this new anthology, edited by Mark Morris (“…one of the finest horror writers at work today” – Clive Barker)! Elemental Forces is the fifth book in Mark Morris’s ABC of Horror, and follows Darkness Beckons, which is out now! Mark has once again approached an impressive range of authors but we’ve reserved space for four new stories from the online submissions. This is a prestigious anthology and will be published worldwide in hardcover and paperback. The first book in the series, After Sundown, was nominated for both Shirley Jackson and British Fantasy awards, so we’re looking forward to finding more unthemed horror stories for this fifth collection.

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Events / Flat Amount / Magazine

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Taking Submissions: A Coup Of Owls Spring 2024 Issue (Early Listing)

Submission Window: December 1st – 7th, 2023
Payment: Drabbles and Flash – £5, Short Stories 1001 to 4000 words – £10, Short Stories 4001 to 8000 words – £15
Theme: Speculative fiction, no set theme, though they do like stories inspired by the season you’re submitting for
Note: Only publishes creators from under represented and/or marginalized communities.

WE ONLY PUBLISH CREATORS FROM UNDER REPRESENTED AND/OR MARGINALISED BACKGROUNDS AND/OR COMMUNITIES

We don’t ask for any proof, we take this on trust with the expectation that anyone not from a marginalised background or underrepresented community wouldn’t take up the space of someone who is. We ask you to consider this before submitting.

QUARTERLY ONLINE ANTHOLOGY: BRIEF

We’re looking for stories you’ve poured your soul into but haven’t been able to find the right home for. We’re looking for stories that make us feel something.

Warmth, love, melancholy, rage.

We want it all. 

All genres, styles and themes will be considered and we especially love stories that are outside the box in their telling. Ambiguous endings? Non-linear storytelling? Antagonist’s point-of-view? A story told in just one scene?

We love it all.

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Quarterly Online Anthology Submission Schedule:

December 1st – 7th (Spring Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions

March 1st – 7th (Summer Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions

June 1st – 7th (Autumn Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions

September 1st – 7th (Winter Issue) or until we reach 70 submissions

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we do not have set issue themes but feel free to be inspired by the season, seasonal occasions and events. We are unlikely to publish stories with seasonal events out of season – for example a story set in the Winter isn’t likely to make it into our Summer issue even if we adore it.

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Click Here For Print Anthology Information

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Articles / Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: Grab by Kendra Preston Leonard

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: Grab
Author: Kendra Preston Leonard
Publisher: Red Ogre Review Books
Genre: Poetry, folklore
Release date: 7th September, 2023

Synopsis: In the spirit of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, or the best of Neil Gaiman, GRAB is a lively collection of dark fantasy, horror, and folklore-inspired poetry that offers werewolf drama, eldritch entertainments for royalty, a guided tour of dangerous and fantastical labyrinths, spells for snow, far-seeing, and playing the cello, a Ukrainian love story, an unexpected haiku.

Come dance on skulls, see the Erlking stopped in his tracks, and find out how a baby gets raised in a house of witches.

This book is published by Red Ogre Review via a grant from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association.

 

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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear – Halloween 2023 Edition

It’s one of my favorite times of year! Halloween is upon us, and if you have been unable to enjoy all the fun of this holiday, you’ll get a chance to catch up with the stories in this special edition.

This has been an especially fun edition for me because our writers have a plethora of topics and ideas to choose from. This holiday is associated with so many things from ghosts to vampires; haunting people to tricks and treats. This is a time where our writers get to stretch their creative muscles and run wild. While we had a lot of submissions this year, we’ve selected a few of our favorites. Happy Halloween!

 

Happy Reading!

Shalini

Shalini Bethala

Editor, Trembling With Fear

As the veil between worlds thins and the shadows grow bolder, we find ourselves standing on the threshold of Halloween—a day rich with history, mystique, and a touch of the macabre. It’s Stu here, one of your curators of curiosities and teller of tales, ready to embark on a journey through the fantastical and the frightening with this special edition of ‘Trembling With Fear.’

I’ve always believed that Halloween is more than just a day on the calendar; it’s a portal to the parts of our imagination that lie dormant, waiting for permission to come alive. The stories we’ve gathered for you this year are a testament to the power of this hallowed holiday. They weave a tapestry of terror and wonder, inviting you to suspend disbelief and embrace the unknown.

Did you know that Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a time when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was believed to be at its thinnest? It’s a tradition that speaks to our deepest yearnings to connect with something greater than ourselves, and it’s the perfect backdrop for our literary adventure.

So, dear reader, I invite you to join me in celebrating the allure of All Hallows’ Eve. Let’s revel in the magic and mystery of the stories that await, and perhaps, just perhaps, we’ll discover that the line between fiction and reality is not as clear-cut as it seems.

Welcome to the Halloween special of ‘Trembling With Fear.’ The shadows are waiting, and the tales are ready to be told. Are you?

Lauren McMenemy

Editor-in-Chief, Trembling With Fear

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Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Flat Amount / Online / Reprints Allowed / Token Payment

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Ongoing Submissions: StoSo Times and StoSo Ink

Payment: Contributor’s Copy and $5
Theme: Speculative fiction – that is stories and poems and art in the genres of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, and any combination thereof.

StoSo Press is currently seeking submissions for our new publications StoSo Times and StoSo Ink.

StoSo Times is a monthly online publication that specializes in the genres of Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Horror. StoSo Times will be sent first as a newsletter edition, then shared on our website as part of StoSo Ink. Our goal is to publish at least one story and one poem per genre on our online editions. Every 12 months we will include the year’s publications in a print anthology.

Eventually we plan to expand into publishing novels and nonfiction as it relates to SFFH, such as thought-provoking essays, book reviews and recommendations, author interviews, excerpts from forthcoming books, and other noteworthy industry news. Additionally, we intend to release more SFFH anthologies, video and audio content to further explore the realms of speculative fiction.

If you’re interested in volunteering as a slush reader (or other role) please reach out.

Detailed instructions for submitting to StoSo Press follow.

 

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Events / Flat Amount / Magazine / Reprints Allowed

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Taking Submissions: Taking Submissions: Allegory Volume 45

Submission Window: November 1st – December 31st, 2023
Payment: $15
Theme: Speculative fiction, primarily horror, science fiction, and fantasy.
Note: Reprints welcome

Formatting Guidelines

This is proving to be a recurring problem, so we’re putting it up front. Please, for all our sakes, read this next part carefully.

All submissions should be sent by e-mail (no letters or telephone calls please) to [email protected]. Below are some formatting rules to help us process your submission more quickly.

EMAIL AND COVER LETTERS

Email is accepted in both text and HTML formats. When submitting, please put this in the subject line:

Submission: (Title) – (First and Last name)

Include the following in the body of the email and in the attached submission:

Your name
Name to use on the story (byline), if different
Your preferred email address
Your mailing address
The story’s title
The story’s word count
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