Taking Submissions: LE FANTASTIQUE – A Literary Tribute to CLIVE BARKER
Deadline: December 1st, 2025
Payment: $50 and royalties
Theme: Works inspired by Clive Barker
Open Horror Call for Poetry and Short Story Submissions:
LE FANTASTIQUE – A Literary Tribute to CLIVE BARKER
We invite you to join us in a singular celebration of one of horror and speculative fiction’s most revolutionary voices—CLIVE BARKER.
Published by Nocturnicorn Books, a boutique literary imprint.
Clive Barker has long stood as a beacon in the realms of horror and fantasy—praised by none other than Stephen King as “the Future of Horror.” This anthology seeks to spotlight the groundbreaking and genre-defying narratives that have lifted Barker to iconic status. We are looking for short stories, flash fiction, personal anecdotes, and experimental pieces that channel the spirit, innovation, and dark wonder of Barker’s vast body of work. Contributions that delve deeply into themes of transformation, the grotesque, and the fantastical are most welcome.
* Submission Guidelines
* Word Count:
Poems: No longer than 3 pages.
Flash Fiction: 1,000 words or less
Short Stories should be between 3,000 to 8,000 words.
We will NOT accept poems or stories featuring any kind of violence, mental or physical, against children or animals. We will not accept stories that feature r#pe of any kind, on anyone, of any age. As for any graphic depictions of s#x between consenting adults, we are dealing with this on a case by case basis… after all, this is a Horror Anthology.
We’re NOT looking for nor accepting novellas or novelettes.
* Themes: LE FANTASTIQUE seeks to be more than an anthology; it aims to become a vibrant tapestry of voices that embody the transformative power and dark enchantment of Clive Barker’s literary universe. Your participation will place you among an impressive company of creators dedicated to keeping the fires of fantastic horror burning bright.
Join us in crafting a work that is, with no small measure of pride, a fitting tribute to a master storyteller who continues to inspire and challenge our imaginations. This is your moment to contribute to a legacy that will resonate through the corridors of speculative fiction for years to come.
* Pay: 1) Standard Royalty Package, plus
2) a $50.00 honorarium will be made available, upon request, to any author whose poem or story is accepted into the anthology.
* Payment Method: Paypal. Please provide your paypal email address.
*Reprints: Very Welcome.
*Multiple Submissions: Yes
*Simultaneous Submissions: NO
*Formatting: All submissions should be in SMF (Standard Manuscript Format), also known as Shunn Format (Word documents in Times New Roman, 12-point font), if at all possible.
Relax, we’re not Submission Nazis, you won’t be rejected if your work does not follow Shunn exactly. It just makes our job a little easier if you can.
*How to Submit:
Please send your stories/poems along with a brief author bio (300 words or less), a headshot (jpg), and any relevant publication credits to our editorial team via email:
[email protected].
We prefer an ms word attachment or rtf attachment to your email submission, but in an emergency, you can submit your work in the body of an e-mail.
*Submission Deadline: December 1, 2025, or until filled.
The Nitty Gritty:
Le Fantastique promises to be a literary cornerstone, featuring stories alongside luminaries such as Jonathan Maberry, Paul M. Sammon, Benjamin Adams, Lucy Taylor, Anna Taborska, Lee Bailes, Dean M. Drinkel, L.L. Soares, Gustavo Bondoni, John Shirley, Edward McKeown, Paula D. Ashe, Matiland McDonagh, Lucy Taylor, and many more yet to be announced.
If your story or poem purports to be a prequel to, a sequel to, or taking part in the reality of one of Mr. Barker’s books or stories, please run your idea by us first (via email: [email protected]) to confirm whether or not someone else has claimed that slot.
We will NOT be allowing more than one author to create such a tribute to a specific book or story, so, before you waste your time writing a masterpiece set in a particular Barker venue, get our permission first. Because, yes, some specific tribute stories have already been submitted and accepted, to date. If we receive a poem or tale in a Barker Setting, and we have already received and accepted someone else’s take on the same work, your submission will be summarily deleted.
Our Strong Hope is that we will be able to accept submissions from a lot of New Voices, to share this cover with a fair share of well known professional horror writers.
Take a chance on us. Submit something!
