Taking Submissions: Something Out There

by · Published · Updated

Deadline: April 30th, 2025
Payment: $25 and a contributor’s copy
Theme: Stories taking place in a specific area based around a UFO festival

Welcome to Bellflower, a sleepy (fictional) Nevada town where nothing much happens. Well, except for the influx of tourists asking about Area 51, which lies to the southwest, and the annual UFO festival, which happens every August. For years, man watched the skies. In Bellflower…the skies watched back.

We’re looking for submissions that take place during or around this festival, a town-wide event where locals dress up, set up telescopes, take tourists on shady desert tours, and stay up all hours of the night, hoping for a glimpse of something from the great beyond.

Additional InformationAll stories should take place in the 1980s. So keep this in mind with the technology you feature. The stories should lean more into the horror genre but can be horror/sci-fi. They should include an alien encounter of some kind and mention the annual UFO festival in Bellflower, but they don’t have to take place at the UFO festival. Anywhere in the general vicinity (see map) is acceptable as long as it ties back to Bellflower somehow. For example, it could be a family road trip to Vegas along the Extraterrestrial Hwy and one of their stops is Bellflower, etc. Some other examples could include but are not limited to:

  1. a slumber party
  2. kids in a treehouse
  3. mysterious rock falls from sky
  4. weird goo in water
  5. flashing lights in the sky
  6. getting lost in the nature reserve after hours and experiencing something weird
  7. encounters with the eccentric “townspeople” of Bellflower themselves
  8. Military run-ins

You name it. Think outside the box.

There will be several rounds of editing and this phase is important. Submitters must be committed to help in the editing process.

Make sure that you upload your document as a WORD document (.doc or .docx). No other submission types will be read.

Please do NOT predominantly reference any other alien work. It is not the time to show off your Aliens or Tommyknockers knowledge. Keep your work original.

Map

DeadlineApril 30th, 2025 at 11:59 PM CST

Word Limit2,500-7,000 words

GenreAlien Horror, Set in the 80s

Compensation:Selected stories will receive the following:

  • $25 USD (Paid via Venmo or PayPal)
  • 1 Paperback Copy
  • 1 eBook Copy
  • 1 Audiobook Copy

Additionally, selected authors will receive paperback / hardback copies at a discount (print and shipping cost only).

Total estimated value of compensation is approximately $60 USD .

*** International authors are encouraged to submit; however, compensation may be done monetarily if shipping the physical copies to your location is cost prohibitive. We utilize printers who can print in the UK and the USA. If you live outside of these countries, you can still get copies but any shipping over $10 USD reduces the amount of the payout to you by Terrorcore Publishing. If you are still wanting the copy, should the amount owed to you go below $0 USD, then you will be responsible for paying Terrorcore Publishing the difference.

Via: Terrorcore Publishing.

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