Deadline: July 11th, 2020
Payment:Flash: 250-1000 words – $5.00, Short: 1001-5000 words – $7.00, 5001-7000 words – $10.00
Theme: Body Horror

Sci-Fi & Scary is pleased to announce that we are opening submissions for our first charity anthology, with a goal of publishing in mid-February, 2021.

Proceeds will be split between:

Pulmonary Hypertension Association 

and

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Twisted Anatomy: A Sci-Fi & Scary Body Horror Anthology*

*Tentative Title

We blame Laurel Hightower. One innocent discussion about vagina tentacles planted a seed that very quickly took root. Body horror is perhaps one of the most disturbing kinds of horror. Our bodies are meant to behave in certain ways, and the corruption or mutation of that, of our own selves turning against us, in a declaration of war against an enemy we can’t fight because it’s in our own skin? Terrifying. Women in particular have so little control over their own bodies as it is in some areas. To have even more taken from us? No , thank you. But it’s fascinating, isn’t it? Body horror holds an unique allure, so we’re excited to invite everyone to participate in this anthology.

What is Body Horror?

Body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horror that intentionally showcases graphic or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, gratuitous violence, disease, or unnatural movements of the body.

Wikipedia.com

Specifically, we are looking for tales of mutation (think Vagina Monsters!)  and corruption, though other forms will be considered as well. We will not accept stories depicting rape, pedophiia, or espousing views that promote bigotry, racism, sexism, or homophobia.

We will be including content warnings in this anthology as we believe in letting readers experience what they want without fear of stumbling over trauma-inducing material unexpectedly. These will be in a list at the back of the book.

Because we are Sci-Fi & Scary, we want to make sure that science fiction is represented in this endeavor, so please don’t be afraid to look into the future or onto other planets when you are considering topics for submission. Please note including a science fiction element is not a requirement. It is just something we’d like to see more of.

As our goal in 2020 for the site as a whole is to promote diverse authors, it should come as no surprise that we want the majority of authors in this anthology to be such. So we hope to have at least 75% of the stories (flash or short) in the anthology to come from diverse voices.

What You Need to Know:

This is a charity anthology, but we do wish to offer at least token payment for accepted stories, given the trying times. The team has pooled resources to make this a possibility. Payments will be made via Paypal, after the contract is signed and any required edits are completed.

• Flash: 250-1000 words – $5.00
• Short: 1001-5000 words – $7.00
• 5001-7000 words – $10.00

No reprints, please.
You may submit one piece to each category.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed.

How/Where to Submit

Submit your stories to:

[email protected]

Files should be  Doc/Docx only

In the subject line of your email, please put: Title – Author Name – Word Count

Questions on how to format your manuscript? Check here: https://www.shunn.net/format/story/

Submissions will open April 11th, 2020.

Submissions will close on July 11th, 2020.

Via: Sci-Fi And Scary.