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Articles

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Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Sleep-Knitting

Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Sleep-Knitting

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:

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Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine

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Taking Submissions: Fraidy Cat Quarterly Volume 7

Submission Window: July 1st – 7th, 2025
Payment: Flash (400-1500 word) $10, Shorts (1,501-8,000) $20, Black and white Artwork: $10
Theme: Rage

We are pro-simultaneous submissions for all categories. Get your work out there with publications you love, and withdraw at any time for any reason.

We try to respond as quickly as possible, but we do have lives, a family, and jobs outside of Fraidy Cat. We appreciate your understanding as we give our time, attention, and grace to all aspects to the best of our abilities.

Fraidy Cat Press is proud to present Fraidy Cat Quarterly, published four times annually in print and ebook formats.

Volume 7: Rage

  • General submissions: July 1,2025 – July 7, 2025
  • Extended window for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Palestinian authors: July 1, 2025 – July 14, 2025
  • Publishing in September 2025

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Events / Flat Amount / Magazine

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Taking Submissions: Brink Literary Magazine July 2025 Window

Submission Window: July 1st – 31st, 2025
Payment: Poem (per poem): $25, Work (less than 1500 words): $50, Art (1-3 Images) : $50, Art (4+ Images): $100, Work (more than 1501 words): $100
Theme: Hybrid fiction with the theme of Obsession

Brink has two reading periods per year: January and July.

July 1 – 31 we will open for submissions engaging the theme of Obsession.

Through Submittable, we accept a variety of creative work from Nonfiction to Fiction, from Poetry to Translation. But our hearts beat strongest for hybrid work.

We are interested in work that presses boundaries by using more than one medium to tell a story; work that looks and feels different on the page. Additionally, we look for submissions that engage the issue’s theme and the notion of being on the brink.
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Events

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Eris Ridge Trail by Larry Hinkel

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 Eris Ridge Trail
Author: Larry Hinkel
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Four Winds Bar Publishing
Publication date: 4th March, 2025

Synopsis:You won’t find the Eris Ridge Trail on any map. You won’t find the people who go missing on it, either.

The Eris Ridge Trail has no beginning. No end. It runs forever, connecting realities across space and time.

Four travelers find themselves lost on the Trail…

A novice reporter who learns that some shortcuts are anything but.

A grieving author who’s reunited with his dead dog in the tunnels beneath a haunted hotel.

A young man who tries a new ride-share app that abandons him in the space between Nebraska and Colorado.

A seasoned hiker and his aging dog who discover the remains of a six-legged rodent near the sign for a trail they’ve never heard of.

Disoriented by an ever-changing landscape and hunted by otherworldly predators, can they work together long enough to find their way home, or will they fall prey to the cosmic beast that guards the Trail?

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Events

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Taking Submissions: Anomaly July 2025 Window

Submission Window: July 1st – 7th, 2025
Payment: 8 cents per word
Theme: Science fiction stories under 300 words in length

We open from the 1st-7th of each month, beginning April 2025.

What we want: Anomaly is interested in science fiction stories under 300 words in length, for publication on their Patreon, with the right to collect stories into a future anthology. We’re looking for dark and disruptive stories that have strong emotional resonance. We like stories that stick with us after reading, that get us thinking about the twisted use of technologies, the way the world may be, or how characters might react to an evolving technological future.

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Artwork / Events / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Poetry

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Taking Submissions: Thema: Today’s Onerous Task

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.
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Articles / Guest Post

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Advance to Adaptation

Advance to Adaptation
By Kristina Rienzi

Do you want your book turned into a movie? Does it seem like a dream that will never come true? 

If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Most authors dream about their stories on screen. But Hollywood isn’t breaking down doors. There are more writers than ever, and plenty of material for them to be super picky. Besides, unlike self-publishing, self-movie making doesn’t exist. 

Or does it…

Maybe not, yet. But let’s explore what we CAN do as writers. 

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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 6-1-25

Greetings, children of the dark, on this first day of June, and the first day of summer here in the northern hemisphere. Otherwise known as the height of my allergy issues: thanks, pollen! So while I bunker down inside and stare at the lovely weather from my window – no, seriously, I was at a music festival last weekend and could actually *see* the pollen it’s so bad in London this year! – I’m going to be working my way through the rest of the short story submissions awaiting word. Stay tuned, dear submitters.

There’s also, hopefully, news on the much-overdue 2023 anthology being shared below by the big boss man. 

So, through bleary eyes and stuffy nose and general malady, I present to you this week’s menu of short, dark, speculative fiction. Our main course comes from Tahla Ahmad, and takes us right into that space where folklore meets warzone. That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations of:

  • Autumn Bettinger’s case notes,
  • Kevin McHugh’s mail call, and
  • Nicolette M. Ward’s bleary memory.

And one final plea, before I go mainline antihistamines: the drabble cupboard is getting awfully bare again. Please, send us your tiny tales of terror, ASAP!

Over to you, Stuart

Lauren McMenemy

Editor, Trembling With Fear

Hi all.

I’m on vacation next week… That being said, about ten minutes before typing this, I received the new cover art proofs for TWF, so I’m going to try to get those scheduled to go live before I leave (or possibly sneak some laptop time and get it done, woo!)

I think we’ve got the newsletter bugs figured out, it will be at the top of my list to finalize when I’m back from vacation. 

Now, for the standards:

  • Thank you so much to everyone who has become a Patreon for Horror Tree. We honestly couldn’t make it without you all!

Offhand, if you’ve ordered Trembling With Fear Volume 6, we’d appreciate a review!

For those who are looking to connect with Horror Tree as we’re not really active on Twitter anymore, we’re also in BlueSky and Threads. *I* am also now on BlueSky and Threads.

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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