Deadline: July 31st, 2023
Payment: $25 and a contributors copy
Theme: Stories of the Sley Siblings (details on them below) in the genres of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, noir mysteries with dark elements, and thrillers.

We are looking for well-written short stories in the genres of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, noir mysteries with dark elements, and thrillers, each around 6000 words. We would like 18-21 previously unpublished stories to fill this year’s anthology. We’ll stay open at least through July 31st, and possibly after that date if we haven’t filled all slots.

In the subject line, write “SUBMISSION — story genre + Story title — word count”. In the body of your email, tell us a little about yourself and a little about the story.  If you’ve been published elsewhere, tell us about that also. We will pay $25 via PayPal upon contract signing + 1 eBook copy & 1 print copy. We also offer a discount on any future print copies.

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TALES OF THE SLEY SIBLINGS

 

Publication Date: Halloween 2023

The Sley siblings, pictured above, are the backbone of our publishing house, and their stories are just as dark and mysterious as any we tell. Your job, in this first-ever anthology, is to help us tell these stories. RG (pictured far left) is the eldest, and can often be found in his laboratory. His interests lean towards cosmic horror, arcane magics, and spells. Before he was confined to a wheelchair, he would scour the world looking to become a powerful magician and sorcerer. Charles (center) has always loved books. As the middle child, he often spent hours in the library, reading the classics, and has spent his life in pursuit of examining the truth behind classic legends. The youngest, Genevieve, is as at home in her garden as she is in the wild. A champion of the underrepresented voice, the horrors and mysteries she’s been drawn to reflect those voices. 

We are looking for 15-18 previously unpublished short stories in the genres of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, dark mysteries, and thrillers that feature at least one of the Sley siblings predominantly in the story. There is no theme (other than their inclusion). Just make your stories around 6000 – 10,000 words. We’ll stay open until September 31st and possibly later if all slots haven’t been filled.

In the subject line, write “SUBMISSION — Tales of the Sley Siblings + Story title — word count”. In the body of your email, tell us a little about yourself and a little about the story.  If you’ve been published elsewhere, tell us about that also. We will pay $25 via PayPal upon contract signing + 1 eBook copy & 1 print copy. We also offer a discount on any future print copies. 

Tales of the Sley Siblings Anthology FAQ’s

• What’s the age difference between the 3 siblings?

RG was very nearly an adult when the other two were little, and in fact, they don’t know for sure just how old he is (that he has been a lifelong student of magik and the occult and is a self-proclaimed sorcerer and practitioner of a number of right-hand and left-hand magical systems is really all anyone can pin down about him).  There is only five years difference between Genevieve and Charles, with Genevieve being the youngest.

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• What careers have they had?

They have lived off their family’s old wealth, and the Sley’s have built themselves up off the backs of the poor, so much so that the three siblings hope, this late in life, that serving as patrons of the arts will redeem some of their past misdeeds. Charles, to prepare for this current endeavor, worked for some large and small publishing houses. He is never satisfied with what I’m doing and yet won’t help me garner the funds and means to do what he requests. “We all start somewhere,” he likes to say. RG’s only knowledge of work has come from his lifelong pursuit of the spiritual, which started not long after their mother got sick and their father vanished. As to the family money, it can be traced to logging, textiles, and — later — government contracts, but any effort to get more specific details has been met with a dark wall of obfuscation and misdirection.

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• What are their personal lives like?

Both Genevieve and RG have had a number of lovers, some famous, most scandalous, few healthy or endearing, but there is a rumor of a woman from RG’s youth whose love he traded for the power he now wields. Not even his brother or sister — the two people closest to him — know much about her, and in fact there is a family rumor that he’s now in a wheelchair because of that torrid romance. I’ve tried to pin down exactly what happened but, as is the case with the Sley siblings, it is nigh impossible to separate the rumor from fact.

Charles is married, but he and his wife enjoy an open marriage, one that has left them nearly autonomous since their children have grown. Charles, while living at their family home with his siblings, has gone to great lengths to protect the anonymity of his wife and children. How many children he has is in question. To be honest, it has been hinted at that Sley is not even their true last name, and the reason they don’t serve as stronger financial backers and patrons to the publishing house is in an effort to protect that anonymity out of fear that some intrepid soul may be able to trace that money back to them directly and expose them to the world.

• Are any of them handy?

Handy? How do we define handy? Do they get their hands dirty (other than Genevieve’s penchant for gardening or whatever occult spells and rites RG performs in his laboratory, they are strangers to menial labor and callouses on their hands would be seen as deformities)? Are they useful to have around? Absolutely. Each works from a particular skill set that has led them to this current endeavor (the only reason I even list Grimoire submissions on the website is because of RG’s incessant desire to possess the most authentic occult library in the world). Charles is an expert in parapsychology and classical studies, including myths and legends from various cultures. Genevieve is drawn to the earthly and humanistic supernatural endeavors, is a champion of underrepresented voices, and her garden reflects her comfort in hex craft and Wiccan-based practices, and RG is very much steeped in the old myths that can be described as otherworldly, demonic, or even Lovecraftian. Each is sharp and has proven time and again, even when faced against insurmountable odds, that they are, by themselves, forces that should not be reckoned with. When they combine their energies, they are frighteningly unstoppable.

• Are they all used to dark, weird things happening, or are any of them (or any more than the others) disturbed or freaked out? Or excited by it?

I think I’ve alluded well enough to this answer through my previous responses. They are not only used to the weird, disturbing, and dark, it is in their blood. I can’t imagine any of them showing excitement in the classic sense, but they are intrigued, and because of this they know more about the mystical and the occult than most anyone else on this planet. They served as consultant’s for my novel, A MIND FULL OF SCORPIONS and its upcoming sequels, after all.

• What should we know about the house itself?

What can I tell you without endangering myself or the wellbeing of those I care about? There are passageways. The whole of the house is a grand, labyrinthine edifice that, I swear, changes every time I visit. It makes the Winchester Mystery House look like a McDonald’s play area for kids. But what of secrets? Bodies? Curses or cursed objects? I could provide a definite answer to the bodies that they’ve left, but I dare not for, again, that fear for my well being.  RG’s lab is stocked with numerous artifacts and tools of his craft of the occult magik, and the results of some of those spells have in fact spilled over into the rest of the house and the surrounding grounds. The library is an expansive room complete with all manner of texts, including some of the oldest copies of ancient grimoires and books on sorcery known to man (and some texts heretofore unknown to mankind). The greenhouse not only houses poisonous flora, but also such herbs and spices and weeds and plants necessary to successfully complete earthbound spells, Wiccan rites, and hex craft.

Via: Sley House Publishing.