Eric J. Guignard's Blog
October 10, 2025
I'll be signing and participating in two book events this weekend!
I'll be signing and participating in two book events this weekend! Come down if you are in the area for either!
Saturday, 10/11: I'll be in Riverside at the 1st annual Riverside Book Festival, vending and signing books along with Ari Loeb, Greg McWhorter, and Blake Shimshock.
All day event, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Riverside Main Library
3900 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside
https://riversidebookfestival.org/
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Sunday, 10/12: I'll be speaking and signing books for the HWA anthology SCARING AND DARING at the Los Angeles Public Library’s Taper Auditorium along with Lisa Morton and Joe R. Lansdale!
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Doors open 1:45 p.m.
L.A. Central Library - Taper Auditorium630 W 5th St Los Angeles, CA 90071
https://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/scaring-and-daring-author-panel


October 2, 2025
October, 2025 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets
https://ghoulish.rip/ghoulish-tales-reopens-for-submissions-9-17-10-17-2025/
Payment: 10 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: October 17, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Short stories that fitour personal definition of the word GHOULISH, which is “fun horror that aims tocelebrate all things spooky.”Uncharted
https://uncharted.submittable.com/submit
Payment: $200 flat
Story Length: 1,000–5,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: Yes (but no pay)
Response: Three months
Description: Any type of genrestory: Horror (falls under Thriller/Mystery), Science Fiction, Crime, Fantasy,etc. (see submission page for additional themed 1-time calls).
No Laughing Matter (Flame Tree)
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/no-laughing-matter-call-for-submissions
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 3,000–4,000 words (soft range)
Deadline: October20, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: within 4 months of the submission deadline
Description: Looking forfiction which embraces the horror/thriller genres with elements of bleak, blackhumor, wry observation, a touch of irony and satire, and hints of the absurd.
Small Wonders
https://smallwondersmag.com/submissions/
Payment: 10 cents a word (1cent a word for reprints)
Story Length: up to 1,000 words (or1,100 words for reprints)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: Yes
Response: Unspecified, but accordingto online reports up to five months
Description: Non-themed shortstories relating to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/guidelines/
Payment: 8 cents/ word original; 2 cents/ word reprint (range for non-fiction)
Story Length: 1,000–10,000 words(focus on shorter form)
Deadline: Opens the 1st and 2nd day only of eachmonth.
Reprints?: Yes
Response: abt. 2 months
Description: Well written original stories in science fiction, fantasy,myth, fairy tales, and eldritch; in written, podcast, video, and/or graphicstory form, and from around the world. We care about character, plot, ideas,and storytelling ability. We accept both serious and humorous work (no horror).Also interested in poetry and non-fiction (articles).MetaStellar (Flash Fiction)
https://www.metastellar.com/write-for-us/flash-fiction-story-submission
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 1,200 words
Deadline: Open between October 1–October31, 2025
Reprints?: Yes (unpaid) (longer word count also allowed)
Response: unknown
Description: Original speculativefiction, focusing on horror, fantasy and science fiction.
***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick ofthe Month”https://daftnotions.com/humans-from-earth/
Payment: $100-$150 AUD flatrate (about $65-$100 USD). $50 AUD for reprints.
Story Length: 3,000–7,000 words
Deadline: October 31, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Science fiction horrorstories in which Earthlings are the boogyman to an alien race.Drek Death and Doom (Theme of: ThanksgivingFolk Horror)
https://drekdeathanddoom.com/submissions/
Payment: between 1–4 cents aword
Story Length: 2,000–6,000 words
Deadline: October 31, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Folk Horror storiesthemed around Thanksgiving. Horror, thriller, splatter, extreme; it’s all goodas long as there is a story.Made in L.A. (anthology)
https://www.madeinlawriters.com/submission-guidelines/
Payment: 1 cent a word
Story Length: up to 2,500 words
Deadline: October 31, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: by December 31, 2025
Description: Stories that evokenuanced feelings and leave a lasting impression. We want to meet vibrantcharacters, hear their distinct voices, and—as always—see the action unfold ina strong Los Angeles setting.
September 1, 2025
September, 2025 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets
https://wordfirewestern.moksha.io/publication/into-the-deep-dark-woods/guidelines
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: Open September 1 – October15, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Any genre, but thesetting of “deep, dark woods” must be central to the story: Stories thatexplore the magic and mystery of the primeval wilderness, where tangledbranches create a foreboding canopy… A place of fairy tales, secrets, andmonsters.Utopia SF Magazine
https://www.utopiasciencefiction.com/submit
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 1,000 words forflash fiction issue (normally up to 4,000 words)
Deadline: Regularly Open. See listof THEMES and associated deadlines.
Reprints?: No
Response: Up to four months
Description: See site for quarterlythemes! Fiction to be “enthralling stories set in a future we want to believein”. Mag is also interested in poetry, non-fiction, and art, allscience-fiction related.
https://rsaintclaire.com/2025/08/05/call-for-submissions-for-our-halloween-issue/
Payment:
Story Length:
Deadline: September 10, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description:
Tractor Beam
https://www.tractorbeam.earth/about
Payment: $1,000 flat rate
Story Length: up to 6,000 words
Deadline: October 6, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Written and graphicworks that have actionable soil-based technologies as their premise: Storiesexploring a positive future on Earth with an emphasis on soil and agriculturein the winter, the productive role of ice and snow in the seasons, frost and permafrost,future fashion and style, entertainment and culture, the ocean and soil underwater, soil as tech, soil as the origin of life and anti-apocalyptic futures,etc.
Three-Lobed Burning Eye
https://www.3lobedmag.com/submissions.html
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 1,000–7,500 words
Deadline: Open
Reprints?: No
Response Time: within two months
Description: Non-themed, originalspeculative fiction: horror, fantasy, and science fiction.
https://www.annareser.com/night-shades-mag/
Payment: $65 flat rate
Story Length: up to 500 words
Deadline: .
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: .
***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick ofthe Month”
https://legacyliteraryservices.com/not-one-of-us/
Payment:
Story Length:
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: Usually within two weeks
Description: .Polymorphic
https://polymorphicmagazine.com/submissions/
Payment: $30 CAD flat rate
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: Open September 1 –December 31, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Non-themed short horrorstories and art from creators around the world, illustrated and organized by asmall team of Canadian visual artists; From the grotesque to the absurd, Polymorphichighlights horrors of all kinds, building a unique experience that’s sure toleave you terrified!
August 13, 2025
Release Day for: SCARING AND DARING
Can’t believe I missed promotingthis yesterday on its official release day (something I’ve been looking forwardto for years!) but announcing this new book release through HarperCollins!:
SCARING AND DARING
Edited by Eric J. Guignard
In partnership with Horror Writers Association, this MG anthology takes some ofthe best-loved stories from classic literary canon and reimagines them with afrightful (and fun!) twist!
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Early praise for the SCARING AND DARING:
“With supernaturalcreatures including dangerous fae, a werewolf, witches, and a ghost horse,there’s something here for any young reader inclined to the fantastical…Uncanny fun!" —Kirkus Reviews
“A win-win for any tween or teen bookshelf.” —Booklist
###
Full Table of Incredible Contents includes:
• “Hook and the Hand of Fate” by Teel James Glenn and Maxwell I. Gold (from Peter Pan)
• “What We Found Beneath Mount Etna” by Lisa Morton (from Journey to the Center of the Earth)
• “Prince Badi az-Zaman and the Ogress Fattan” by Tanvir Ahmed (from One Thousand and One Nights)
• “The Hound of the Basking Villas” by Kelley Armstrong (from The Hound of the Baskervilles)
• “The Lost Musketeer” by Maurice Broaddus (from The Three Musketeers)
• “The Secret (Thing in the) Garden” by Delilah S. Dawson (from The Secret Garden)
• “The Shadows in the Rock” by Joe R. Lansdale (from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
• “A Lucky Find” by Kristi Petersen Schoonover (from Moby-Dick)
• “The Boy of La Mancha Rides a Ghost Horse” by Carlos Hernandez (from Don Quixote (or, El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha))
• “The Glass Slipper” by Sherrilyn Kenyon (from Cinderella)
• “Wolf in the Mirror” by Sarwat Chadda (from The Jungle Book)
• “Vessel Eaters” by Ai Jiang (from “The Ballad of Mulan”)
• “Freckle and Hide” by Jonathan Maberry (from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
• “Out on a Limb” by Nancy Holder (from Pollyanna)
• “The Gruelmaster” by Nathan Carson (from Oliver Twist)
And GORGEOUS cover art by Denis Zilber!!
Available for sale here:
HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/scaring-and-daring?variant=43735904649250
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Scaring-Daring-Terrifying-Association-Anthology/dp/0063372479


#ericjguignard #ericguignard #Booksofericjguignard #horror #bookstagram #fantasy #darkfantasy #darkfiction #anthology #shortstories #childrensbooks #funreading #middlegrade #HarperCollins #ScaringAndDaring #horrorwritersassociation #promotebooks
August 1, 2025
Contributor Copies for SCARING AND DARING!
Just got a box of these beauties!
Coming Aug. 12: SCARING AND DARING anthology ed. by moi!
https://ericjguignard.com/SacringandDaring.html

***
#ericjguignard #ericguignard #Booksofericjguignard #horror #bookstagram #fantasy #darkfantasy #darkfiction #anthology #shortstories #childrensbooks #funreading #middlegrade #HarperCollins #ScaringAndDaring #horrorwritersassociation #promotebooks
July 28, 2025
August, 2025 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)
https://ashtonspot.com/talesofhorror/
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: Intermittent. Currentlyopen, but may close at any time.
Reprints?: Yes
Response: unknown
Description: Non-themed horror shortfiction and poetry (seemingly with a preference to work that touches on theclassic style).Analog Science Fiction and Fact
https://www.analogsf.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines
Payment: 8–10 cents a word (9cents a word for non-fiction)
Story Length: up to 20,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: 2–3 months
Description: Science fiction storiesin which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plotthat, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse.
TWO SEPARATE ANTHOLOGIES from Flame Tree Publishing
Payment: 8 cents a word (6 cents/ word for reprints)
Story Length: 3,000–4,000 words (soft range)
Deadline: August 24, 2025
Reprints?: Yes
Response: within 4 months of the submission deadline
• The Valkyries: Fiction stories that explore and expand on existing talesassociated with Valkyries (not simply retelling classic tales) or imaginecompletely new names and narratives for those who have never seen the limelight.
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/the-valkyries-call-for-submissions
• Odysseus: Fictionshort stories that present the fully formed, rounded and complex figure that isOdysseus, from his point of view and as others see him, as he faces thechallenges of living up to the expectations put upon him.
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/odysseus-call-for-submissions
Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/
Payment: 8 cents/ word original; 2 cents/ word reprint (range for non-fiction)
Story Length: 1,000–10,000 words(focus on shorter form)
Deadline: Opens ONLY the 1st and 2nd day only of everymonth.
Reprints?: Yes
Response: abt. 2 months
Description: Well written original stories in science fiction, fantasy,myth, fairy tales, and eldritch; in written, podcast, video, and/or graphicstory form, and from around the world. We care about character, plot, ideas,and storytelling ability. We accept both serious and humorous work (no horror).Also interested in poetry and non-fiction (articles).
Crepuscular Magazine (drabble/flashfiction)
https://www.patreon.com/posts/submission-85137677
Payment: 10 cents a word
Story Length: up to 250 words
Deadline: Ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: undeclared (seems toaverage less than one month)
Description: Microfiction storiesexploring places, characters, and questions buried in the gray areas betweenthis and that, here and there, night and day, alive and dead, evil and good,feminine and masculine, up and down, real and unreal. If you're not quite surewhat that means, lean into that feeling... While we lean toward speculativepieces, we have a love for those in-betweeny pieces that blur genre. We accepthorror (both spec and non), fantasy, science fiction, general/literary fiction,and everything in between.No Gods No Masters (anthologyfrom Sans. Press)
https://www.sanspress.com/submissions
Payment: €200 flat rate
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: August 31, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: All genres: storiesthat are ready to get their hands dirty in the making of a newer, fairer world;it is for the characters that are driven not for the love of power but forsolidarity, for genuine belief, and for a refusal to surrender to cynicism anddespair.***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick ofthe Month”https://remains.uk/pages/submissions
Payment: Unknown. ESTIMATE1–3 cents a word (negotiated)
Story Length: Unknown. Previouslyopen to work up to 10,000 words; however suggested probably no more than 5,000words
Deadline: Ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Non-themed, generalaudience, thoughtful horror. From the former editor of Black Static Magazine.Tales to Terrify (story podcast)
https://talestoterrify.com/submissions/
Payment: 2 cents a word (1cent/ word for reprints)
Story Length: 2,000–10,000 words
Deadline: Currently open. Unknownwhen will close
Reprints?: Yes
Response: up to 3 months
Description: Non-themed shorthorror, dark fantasy, and other disturbing fiction. We want to read works thatthreaten to bleed into our reality and corrupt something as ordinary as atoaster. Anything is allowed as long as it’s well-conceived and well-written.
Deadly Duos: Funfair (DreadstoneBooks anthology)
https://www.dreadstonebooks.com/submissions
Payment: £0.01 per word(capped at 3,000 words)
Story Length: up to 5,000 words(prefer only up to 3,000 words)
Deadline: September 30, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: within 1 month of the submission deadline
Description: Dark tales from thefairground—twisted rides, carnivals of terror, sideshows, and the sinistershadows behind the bright lights.
July 21, 2025
Book Chain 16: White Trash and Recycled Nightmares by Rebecca Rowland
Book Chain Campaign: BookChain16: Tracking Log for:
White Trash and Recycled Nightmares by Rebecca Rowland :

i. Bought on Amazon, September 15, 2024

ii. Given from Eric J. Guignard to Ken MacGregor at StokerCon, June 14, 2025

iii. Where to next...? Only chance and the last reader involved may determine! #BookChainChallenge
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NOTES:
Book back copy: "A workaholic splits his time between home and hotel rooms until an anonymous cryptic message arrives, setting off a wrinkle in the time continuum and slowly shredding his sanity. Elsewhere, a woman's jealousy over her spouse's connection with their only child boils over, leading her to see monsters everywhere except the mirror. University fraternity brothers discover that a cruel prank has dire consequences but the full extent of their punishment is yet to come, while an intrepid hiker explores an abandoned Cold War facility hidden within a Massachusetts mountain only to realize that military secrets aren't the only things buried within. From witches, wendigos, and werecats to sirens, sadists, and serial killers, Rebecca Rowland serves readers a twenty-tale meal of cosmic, creature, and quiet horror in platters heaping with unsettling trepidation. In Rowland's long-awaited follow-up to The Horrors Hiding in Plain Sight, a lighted room provides no safe haven, and in the darkest corner of the basement waits a ravenous dread. The most sinister objects of fear are never truly discarded… just repurposed. Includes a foreword by Mary SanGiovanni."
(pub. Dead Sky Publishing, October 10, 2023)
Available here: https://deadskypublishing.com/portfolio-item/white-trash-recycled-nightmares/
And reviewed on:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/White-Recycled-Nightmares-Rebecca-Rowland/dp/1639511202/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/white-trash-and-recycled-nightmares-rebecca-rowland/1143024617?ean=9781639511204
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/98657775-white-trash-and-recycled-nightmares
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AND READ WHAT #BOOKCHAIN IS ABOUT HERE!
https://ericjguignard.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-chain.html
June 30, 2025
July, 2025 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)
Mmeory (anthology, Air and Nothingness Press)
http://aanpress.com/submissions.html
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 1,500 words
Deadline: Open between July 7–August15, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: September 15, 2025
Description: Stories of memory manipulation.Examples include magic spells, cyborg memory edits, very unreliable narrators,time travel gone horribly wrong; open to all genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction,Urban Fantasy, Alternate History, Steampunk, Hopepunk, Solarpunk, and beyond...)
https://www.diabolicalplots.com/guidelines/
Payment: 10 cents a word
Story Length:
Deadline: Openbetween
Reprints?: No
Response Time: One month after end of submission window
Description: .
https://www.mysteriononline.com/p/submission-guidelines.html
Payment: 8 cents a word (4 cents for reprints)
Story Length: up to 9,000 words
Deadline:
Reprints?: Yes
Response: Four months
Description: .
The Orange & Bee
https://theorangebee.substack.com/p/submission-guidelines
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 4,000 words
Deadline: Open between July 1– July 14,2025
Reprints?: No
Response: Within three weeks
Description: Fairy tale narratives:Original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significantway with the long history of fairy tales. We are interested in works thatstretch, expand, test, subvert, and challenge the fairy-tale tradition. We areinterested in works that are entertaining, but also in works that matter: thatis, in works that are both pleasurable to read and thought-provoking.
TWO SEPARATE ANTHOLOGIES: Romantic Fantasy from Flame Tree Publishing
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/romantic-fantasy-first-submissions-0
Payment: 8 cents a word (6cents/ word for reprints)
Story Length: 2,000–4,000 words (soft range)
Deadline: July 20, 2025
Reprints?: Yes
Response: within 4 months of the submission deadline
1. A Breath of Time: Lost loves, love discovered, love unreachable unless Time itself isconquered, these and many other time-bending, time traveling, time feastingthemes can spark your imagination for stories of alternate history, of ancientforests returning to haunt the present and great adventures through dreams andtimeless mountain tops, all with hearts beating to the rhythm of romance.
2. Of Love & Dragons: Dragons may be fierce but they are symbolsof great power, and the bond between human and dragon, once forged can never bebroken. Or can it? Can romance deal a deathly trail of vows abandoned, orforgotten, can realms beyond our time conjure tales of Dragon Lords and warriorprincesses, of great rivalries and oceans yearning with desire anddetermination, can you tempt the ancient ways into new meanings, and newstories.
Mergnaser Magazine
https://mergansermagazine.com/about.html
Payment: 8 cents a word($1/line for poetry)
Story Length: up to 2,000 words(soft limit)
Deadline: No closing date listed
Reprints?: No
Response: Within two months
Description: Strong, well-writtenpieces across a wide range of material, including fiction, creativenon-fiction, and poetry.***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick ofthe Month”https://inner-worlds.ghost.io/submission-guidelines/
Payment: £0.02 (about US 3 cents a word)
Story Length: 500–2,500 words
Deadline: Open between July 15–August31, 2025
Reprints?: Yes (if not availableonline)
Response: Three weeks
Description: Science fiction,fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychologicalfocus.Slugger
https://sluggerfiction.com/submit/
Payment: $25 flat
Story Length:
Deadline: July 15, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: 45 days after close ofsubmissions
Description: .
June 7, 2025
My Website Updates!
I finally added thattalismanic “S” to both my websites (the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate)and also completed a massive overhaul of content and design!
Check out my sites, whatdo you think?
Here’s my author’s site:https://www.ericjguignard.com/
Here’s my Indie Press: https://www.darkmoonbooks.com/
(Dark Moon Books willsoon be publishing its 30th title!!)
May 26, 2025
June, 2025 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)
https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/Market/Index/19663
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: 2,500–10,000 words
Deadline: July 31, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Original horror shortstories regarding the unexplored depths of our planet and the universe.
https://smokelong.submittable.com/submit/316909/dark-fantasy-and-psychological-thriller-a-smokelong-themed-call-for-submission
Payment: $300 flat
Story Length: up to 1,000 words
Deadline: August 14, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: Two weeks
Description: Prose that istroubling, that explores our darkest fears. We're not quite sure we're readyfor this to be honest, but that's part of the appeal. We are looking forliterary prose. We do not want to weather gratuitous violence or cruelty, butwe do--or at least we think we do--want to feel fright, unease, a racing heart.If you are a writer of stories that do this, this call is for you. ThinkShirley Jackson.
Plott Hound Magazine
https://plotthoundmag.com/submissions/
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words(preferred 3,000–4,000); or flash fiction up to 999 words
Deadline: Open between June 1 and June15, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: Stories withanthropomorphized animals as protagonists; Animal-centric speculative fiction(fantasy, science fiction, horror). (Also open to poetry and non-fiction.)
Anomaly
https://forms.gle/gyYiefg2A2rffr779
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: flash fiction up to 300words
Deadline: Open between June 1 and June7, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Dark and disruptive SFstories that have strong emotional resonance.
Haven Speculative
https://www.havenspec.com/submit/
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 6,000 words
Open From: June 1–June 30, 2025
Reprints?: No (with some exceptions)
Response: within 70 days
Description: Fantasy and sciencefiction stories, poems, and non-fiction, for a modern audience with asensibility for social consciousness.
Clarkesworld Magazine
https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/
Payment: 14 cents per word
Story Length: 1,000–22,000 words
Deadline: Intermittent (usually open)
Reprints?: No
Response: Unknown
Description: Science fiction andfantasy. No horror, but dark SF/F is permitted.
***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick ofthe Month”
https://sliceduppress.com/submissions/
Payment: $35 flat
Story Length: 1,000–4,000 words
Deadline: June 30, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: July 31, 2025
Description: Horror fiction inspiredby early morning kids TV; the educational/bizarre 1960’s & 70’s, the advert-packed80’s, the radical 90’s, the wayward & wacky 2000’s or anything beyond. Evenweb-based entertainment is fair game. And don’t limit yourself to talesinvolving kids, what about parents, or performers & hosts, workers behindthe scenes, even animated creations.
Fearmoji: Queer Emoji Horror
https://www.slashichorrorpress.com/submissions
Payment: $25 flat
Story Length: 4,000–7,500 words
Deadline: August 1, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: Presumably within threemonths
Description: Adult queer body horrorthat somehow strongly incorporates the use of emoji…. sentient emojis, cursedemojis, a secret combination of emojis that unlocks a demon, a serial killerwhose signature is the love heart reaction, disaffected youths whose use of theshrug emoji comes back to haunt them, a coder with an emoji axe to grind… Thepotential here is limitless. Include believable, authentic characters, andcrazy fucking scenarios!
Kozy Krampus: The Cosmic Horror ofthe Holiday Sweater
https://www.underlandpress.com/the-cosmic-horror-of-the-holiday-sweater/
Payment: 1 cent a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words(also open to poetry)
Deadline: June 15–June 30, 2025
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Cosmic horror inherentin the holiday season with Kozy Krampus, a collection of stories merry andmonstrous, cozy and cosmic. The gothic nightmares and horrific haunts of ourforebears persist in our fever-fueled dreams. Some monsters are nevervanquished; they merely find new shapes. Slip into the dark shadows behind themillion flickering holiday lights. Stare down the prehistoric fruit log inwhich lurks something truly eldritch and batrachian. Hark to the songs sungafter midnight by carolers with extra-long tongues and extra-sharp teeth. Thisis the holiday season with the masks ripped off.