Taking Submissions: Songs from the Void

Deadline: August 31st, 2024
Payment: 5 cents per word
Theme: Short horror tales set in the bleakness of space

There’s nothing out here.

Out in the void. Just the infinite vacuous expanse between stars, the dead zone. We were interstellar when the core died. Just shut off. Leaving us stranded. We try to name the stars, (That one’s Arcturus, I think) but they all look the same out here. Identifying our own is pointless. It’s one pinprick of light amongst thousands. There’s no one to call to.

Not that they could hear from out here anyway.

It’s just the three of us, me on my own sled. The repairs have not gone well. Jasmine says she’s seen something moving out in that void. I’ve seen it too, sliding along in the black, always just within the peripheral. Tar, she says. More like blackened blood, bubbles coalescing from the void. It wants to be seen, but just barely. It’s just us … dear God, just us. I know it, and she knows it too.

There’s something out here.

Songs from the Void is an upcoming anthology of short horror tales set in the bleakness of space. We are seeking submissions for this anthology, which will see its launch on Kickstarter mid-2025.

Send us your sci-fi terrors, your Lovecraftian leviathans, your monsters lurking through corridors, your isolation fears. Whatever it is, if it’s in space and scary, we want to see it.

Please follow our guidelines for what we don’t want to see, found at Submissions.

Please be certain your story is formatted with standard short story formatting with your personal details on the first page. We prefer Garamond or Alegreya, 12 pt font.

Stories must be at least 3,500 words long, and our loose upper limit is 12,000 words. Please, if you submit a piece longer than this, be certain every word is necessary.

Please submit the story as a .doc or .docx document.

Keep the cover letter short and simple. Nothing fancy required here. Please include a short bio told in the third person and include your pronouns. This is handled like such: Max Blood (he/him) loves his pronouns. This bio will be used in the anthology at the end of your story.

Simultaneous submissions are encourage; however, please notify us promptly if your story is accepted elsewhere.

To submit, click here:

Via: Max Blood.