Deadline: December 15th, 2018
Payment: $25

This project is designed to be a qualifying market for the Horror Writers Association, paying $25 per accepted story to allow folks to join or move up to the Affiliate level of HWA membership.

Mechanical Miscreants 

Ah, those loveable robots, androids, and cyborgs, performing plenty of chores and dangerous jobs so us humans can remin out of harm’s way.But…What happens when something goes wrong? If your computer has a hardware fault, would it kill you in your sleep? Would your microwave turn on only when it was opened? What about robots living a life of crime, Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robotics be damned?The only real requirements for this anthology will be that a major character must be mechanical or electronic in nature and they’re doing something nefarious. All submitted stories must have a dark undertone to qualify for the HWA. Humor is welcome, as long as something is causing some harm or damage to those pesky “organics”. Stories must be 5,000 words to 10,000 words. Query for longer, shorter stories will not be entertained. Tortured, maybe, but that’s a hard minimum. Modified Shunn format (see blind reading note): (Times New Roman 12pt font; .docx/.doc/.rtf formats only; single paragraph spacing; one space after a period; do not use tabs to indent; American quote mark usage; both American and UK English acceptable.) No reading fee. BLIND READING RULES: These will be read blind, so put your name, address, phone, email(s), and a 100-200 word bio on a cover page and do not put any identifying information on the rest of the manuscript. Include a running page count starting with page #2 (cover page will be #1). Payment on publication, scheduled for first quarter 2019. Submission period: September 22, 2018 through November 30, 2018 (which is during NaNoWriMo, so hit two birds with one Nerf stone.) No simultaneous submissions, acceptances will be on a rolling basis until December 15, 2018, when all acceptances should be finalized. A paper copy will be produced first, with a Kindle version planned afterwards. Questions? Contact [email protected]

Via: Villainous Press.