Deadline: November 15th, 2020
Payment: $.03 per word, capped at $150 usd, and 2 free contributor copies.
Theme: Truly terrifying stories that deal with futuristic themes, set in the near future or far.

Corpus Press is now accepting submissions to Volume 3 of the successful In Darkness, Delight anthology series (publication target 2021) to be edited by Evans Light and Andrew Lennon. Submissions should be story-driven and appeal to a wide adult audience.

We seek truly terrifying stories that deal with futuristic themes, set in the near future or far. Tales can be Earth-based or extraterrestrial, perhaps featuring technological or social upheavals that have frightful implications for individuals or society at large; as examples, the ongoing erosion of privacy and enduring nature of online activity, artificial human enhancement via DNA manipulation or implants, impact of emerging technologies on developing children, and so on. (Think bigger than stories about an interesting app, even though that might be where thoughts go first. The few slots allocated for app stories will be filled very quickly.)

Post-apocalyptic stories will not be accepted. Rather, we desire fiction that occurs during periods preceding any total collapse, be they stable or unstable times. The horrors that await us in utopian futures may be far more chilling and fascinating than those endemic to dystopias, and therein lies our primary interest.

We’re more interested in “fiction” than “science”; this is a horror anthology first and foremost, not a science fiction anthology. To that end, your math doesn’t have to work out to five decimal points for every forward-thinking concept you present. Merely plausible is good enough.

If you’re looking for popular culture references to give you a general feel, here are a few: Annihilation, Alien, Pandorum, Under the Skin, Cube, Slither, The Thing, They Live, Mimic, Black Mirror, Outer Limits, The Fly, Event Horizon, and other horror/sci-fi hybrids. Again, we’re not really seeking stories about apps (hint, hint).

What we ARE looking for:

• Short stories of 2,500-4,500 words that can be characterized as being within the broad category of “horror” fiction and having a futuristic theme as described above. No reprints.

• Successful submissions will be highly original, well written and cleanly edited.

• Stories must hook the reader in opening paragraphs and remain engaging throughout.

• Stories that imagine fresh new horrific futures different from anything we’ve seen or read about before.

What we ARE NOT looking for:

• We are not seeking “extreme horror” or “Splatterpunk” material. We discourage submissions that have a singular purpose of shocking readers with explicit language, sexuality and/or violence. Explicit language, sexuality and violence are acceptable, however, if handled in a tasteful manner and in service to a well-plotted, engaging story.

• We are not seeking abstract mood pieces, vignettes, and highly experimental approaches to literature are discouraged. We are not accepting poems.

• We are not seeking: Stories with an overly humorous tone; Retro sci-fi/steampunk; Trunk stories; Stories hastily retrofitted with superficial futuristic references. Stories must not include actual individuals or living public figures.

• We are not seeking stories that primarily deal with the emotions of sadness or loss.

• We are not seeking stories featuring exaggerated dialects, colloquialisms or excessive references to pop culture or current fads are discouraged.

• We are not seeking post-apocalyptic or zombie stories.

• Epistolary fiction will not be accepted (stories told in the form of a journal, letters, etc).

Document Requirements:

Submissions must be in an editable format sent via the publisher’s submission portal. No PDFs or scanned documents sent as image files will be accepted. Preference is for title, author name, email address and word count information to be placed at the beginning of the document.

Please Note: Do not utilize underlining in place of italics. Do not insert extra lines between paragraphs. Utilize a single space only between sentences. Do not insert tab indents at the beginning of paragraphs.

Submission window: January 4, 2020 until midnight EST November 15, 2020.

Notifications of acceptance / rejection will be sent no later than November 30, 2020, with publication target of 2021. We will do our best to send out acceptances / rejections as promptly as possible so that you may have the chance to submit the work elsewhere if it does not meet our needs.

PLEASE NOTE THAT SUBMISSION DOES NOT GUARANTEE ACCEPTANCE.

Pay Rate: $.03 per word.

Payment will be capped at $150 USD for accepted submissions (we prefer stories between 2,500-4,500 words; longer stories may be submitted, but will only be paid at the cap rate. 7,500 is a firm maximum word count. You are welcome to submit stories with a word count of less than 2,500 words, but they are not likely to be accepted).

Two (2) free contributor copies (paperback) will be provided upon publication, with contributors having the option to buy additional quantities at cost post-publication. Payment on publication.

Anthology target length: Approximately 250-300 pages.

PLEASE READ AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOLLOWING:

Submitting work through this portal constitutes your formal agreement to the following terms:

No multiple or simultaneous submissions. Stories may not be withdrawn from consideration prior to review by Corpus Press without the express written consent of the editors. Corpus Press reserves first right to publication of all submissions.

Via: Corpus Press.