The Horror Tree Recent Markets, Articles, Interviews, and Fiction!

Taking Submissions: The Skull and Laurel Spring 2024 Window

Deadline: May 31st, 2024
Payment: 3c/word (USD) originals; $25 (USD) reprints
Theme: Weird Horror, Dark Fantasy, Dark Science Fiction. Short Fiction, Narrative Poetry.
Note: Reprints Welcome

The Skull and Laurel is a quarterly magazine of New Weird short fiction. A more detailed explanation of the type of stories we publish at Tenebrous Press can be found here, but essentially we are looking for speculative fiction that is genre-fluid and modern in its themes, subtext, characters, techniques, or form. Horror, fantasy, and science fiction stories are welcome so long as they are dark and Weird with a capital W. If your story is speculative and either blends genres or refuses to fit neatly within their confines, we want to read it. Our goal is to publish strange and brave new stories told by people you may have never otherwise met.

 

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Taking Submissions: Hellbound Books’ Anthology of Flash Fiction

Deadline: August 30th, 2024
Payment: $5
Theme: Horror, Noir, and all Things Dark, up to 1,500 words

Announcing a new venture into short horror fiction – curated by Theresa Scott-Matthews.

We are looking for the very best short horror fiction stories – up to 1,500 words (approximately – we’re not going to to turn away cracking tales for being a tad over the word count!).

Anything goes, subject-wise, as long as it fits HellBound Books’ “Horror, Noir, and all Things Dark” philosophy!

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings by Angela Slatter

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: The Wrong Girl & Other Warnings
By: Angela Slatter
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Brain Jar Press
Release Date: October 17th, 2023

Synopsis: From the award-winning Angela Slatter, author of The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, All The Murmuring Bones, and The Path of Thorns, comes a collection of twelve short stories showcasing the scope of her extraordinary talent.

In The Wrong Girl and Other Warnings, Slatter shows us that ‘innocent’ should never be mistaken for ‘safe’, while spinning tales of witches, Victorian-era detectives, bad parents, unrepentant killers, and ancient wisdom.

In A Matter Of Light, detective Kit Casswell is called upon to lend her experience with the supernatural to a very unwilling consulting detective. In Widows’ Walk, a quartet of witches band together in a single house, secretly working to protect young women. In the titular tale, The Wrong Girl, a frustrated artist turns the romance of her fickle friend and tiresome sister into a deadly masterpiece.

Wry, savage, and written with the precision of a writer at the top of her game, The Wrong Girl and Other Warnings is a gift to those who already love Slatter’s fiction and those discovering her exquisite stories for the first time.

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Taking Submissions: Gamut – Science Fiction and Fantasy – 1 DAY ONLY!

Deadline: Opens and likely closes May 1st, get in on midnight folks!
Payment: 10 cents per word for original fiction, 2 cents per word for reprints
Theme: Science Fiction and Fantasy

A magazine, publishing house, and academy for writers & readers of dark speculative fiction. Gamut was made to showcase and celebrate readers, writers, and artists who love dark speculative fiction. We have three guiding principles:

  • Enrapture your senses and ensnare your minds via our magazine and our published works.
  • Support writers through all stages of their careers. With courses crafted to inspire, educate, and elevate.
  • Embrace our foundational principles of equity and diversity and uplift and amplify those readers, writers, and artists who’ve been marginalized in the past.

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Contest: On The Premises: The Hat

Deadline: May 3rd, 2024
Prizes: $35 for first place, $25 for second, $15 for third
Theme: 25 to 50 word story about hats, details below!

Premise: For this mini-contest, tell, show, or evoke a complete story between 25 and 50 words long in which a hat of some kind matters to the story. We’re going with the fairly traditional definition of “hat” for this one. Scarves, hijabs, earmuffs, wigs, hoods, and other head coverings do not qualify. I’m going to say that even helmets don’t qualify. Caps are okay; they’re an informal hat. The judges will not care if anyone wears the hat in the story, so that’s up to you.

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Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Trapped in a building in the middle of nowhere!

Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Trapped in a building in the middle of nowhere!

Welcome to “Writing Prompt Wednesdays,” a haven where your imagination can roam free in the realms of speculative fiction. As we embark on this weekly journey, it’s thrilling to think about the untold stories waiting to be penned in the domains of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Whether you’re a seasoned author or a budding wordsmith, these prompts are your gateway to unexplored worlds and untapped potentials.

Every Wednesday, we’ll serve up a fresh, thought-provoking prompt designed to ignite your creative spark and challenge your storytelling prowess. Think of these prompts as a key, unlocking the doors to uncharted territories where your creativity is the only limit. From eerie, shadow-laden corridors of Gothic horror to the farthest reaches of interstellar space, and the mystical depths of high fantasy, our prompts are a kaleidoscope of possibilities.

Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to approach these prompts. They are mere stepping stones, guiding you towards the vast landscapes of your imagination. Use them to break free from writer’s block, to experiment with new ideas, or simply as a fun exercise to keep your writing skills sharp.

This week’s writing prompt:

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Taking Submissions: Short Story Substack May 2024 Window (Early Listing)

Submission Window: May 1st – 31st, 2024
Payment: $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue
Theme: Any genre, short story

Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful.

Payout = Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check.

Wait, you mean if this substack gets thousands of subscribers, the winner would get thousands of dollars?

Yes! The New Yorker pays roughly $7,500 per story and I sincerely hope to go way past that.

What does the timeline look like?

Submit stories by the end of the month, winner to be announced on the 15th. There is ONE story that wins and receives the full payout.

Where do I send submissions?
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Ongoing Submissions: Neon Dystopia

Payment: $20
Theme: Cyberpunk

We have a pretty broad idea of what cyberpunk as a genre is and isn’t. We’re living in it, so why stamp it down to some cookie cutter bullshit? Neon Dystopia looks for nuanced takes on genre fiction, talks on the writing process, the world around us, and what these things mean to us NOW, not later or then.

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