Deadline: January 30th, 2020

Payment: 2 cents a word, up to 1500 words ($30 max) for prose stories

For the first time, Murder Park is open to submissions from the world at large. While we started as a small zine showcasing the work of L.A.-area authors, we have decided to expand the scope to consider work from anywhere, so long as it’s spooky! Submissions will be open through January 30, 2020, or until we have enough acceptances to fill the volume.

What we want: Original horror or dark fantasy stories of no more than 2000 words. Sci-fi is also welcome so long as it’s scary. We don’t have a strong preference for any particular style or subgenre, but we do prefer writing that is more literary than pulp, that achieves its scares from impacts to fully realized characters as opposed to splatter, gore, or shock value.  We would rather be unsettled than grossed out.

We will happily consider formats outside of traditional prose. Comics, email chains, tweet threads, and other methods of spooky storytelling are welcome. Don’t be afraid to surprise us. But please, no poetry.

We are open to authors of all backgrounds and publication histories. Preference will be given to authors based in Southern California (we are an L.A. zine, after all) and to authors of underrepresented backgrounds. However, the strength of the writing and impact of the story is by far the biggest consideration.

Hard sells: Parody/horror-comedy. Zombies. Clowns. Serial killer protagonists. Stories featuring gratuitous violence and gore at the expense of plot or character arcs. Anything with an explicit or implicit message of racism, sexism, queerphobia, or other bigotries is a definite no.

Compensation: 2 cents a word, up to 1500 words ($30 max) for prose stories, and $30 flat for comics or other visual stories. Payment will be through Venmo or PayPal.

Submission guidelines: Submit your stories in an email to [email protected]. Please use the format “SUBMISSION: [Story Title] by [Author Name]” for the subject line.  Include a cover letter with your author name, story title, genre, word count, and a brief topical bio (i.e., we’re more interested in your greatest fear than your prior publications).  Attach your manuscript as a Word document in Shunn or a similar format, with author info and word count up top. If submitting something visual, feel free to attach an image file or Drive link or whatever works best; just don’t paste manuscripts into the body of your email.

Please allow up to six weeks for a response before sending a follow-up.

Stay spooky!

Via: Genre Hustle