Shadow City Press is seeking short story submissions for an anthology of modern day, creature-themed horror tales entitled Hideous Evermore. We are looking for edgy, thought-provoking dark genre fiction—horror only. We are not interested in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, or splatter punk for this anthology. What we are seeking are stories about creatures of unknown origin that have rarely been read about in horror fiction (however, please avoid stories that only present the origin of the villain/beast). We do not want stories about zombies, vampires, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, psychopaths/serial killers, or any of the other horror clichés. Though many writers can present these types of characters in a new light, this anthology is focused on an original breed of creature to provoke the minds of readers.
At the heart of all submissions should be a theme of hideous terror. Scare us with something we’ve never seen! Generally, if you read your manuscript and it scares you, then it is probably a good fit for this anthology. In addition, we pride ourselves in publishing works that contain strong characters. Make your characters believable! Make us feel their struggles! Sex and gore are fine as long as they are an integral part of the story.
At Shadow City Press, we believe that horror is meant to frighten, disquiet, and strike deeply at the darkest places in the reader’s soul. Therefore, we ask that you only submit your darkest tales to us. If we do not like the tale, we will kindly pass on it. Submissions that do not adhere to the guidelines presented here, will automatically be discarded.
Submissions should be between 1,000 and 3,500 words. Payment for accepted stories is 1 cent per word and one contributor’s copy of Hideous Evermore upon publication. We will acquire first-time North American rights for original works, to appear in our anthology Hideous Evermore, slated for release in the Spring/Summer of 2009.
We are not accepting simultaneous submissions or reprints.
All electronic submissions should be in the following standard manuscript format:
· Microsoft Word Document (.doc)
· 12pt Courier New Font
· Double-spaced
· First page should include Author contact info, title of work, byline, and word count
· Last Name, Title, Page Number on upper right of every page after first page
ALL stories should be well-crafted. Numerous spelling errors will work against you. Take the time to edit your work before submitting!
As editor, we have chosen our first published author, Andrew Wolter (author of Nightfall) to head-up this anthology. Andrew is a great writer and has a good eye for well-constructed stories and characters. Please email your query/cover letter AND attachment to him with the subject line: Hideous Evermore Submission. It is important that you email both Andrew and Seth Drake (editor at Shadow City Press), so that all lines of communication remain open. Therefore, email your electronic submissions to andrew@andrewwolter.com and editor@shadowcitypress.com. Once you have sent your email, you should receive a response from Shadow City Press within 1 day that we received your submission. Once we have confirmed receipt of your submission, please allow 30 to 60 days for a response. If your story is rejected, we will do our best to give you feedback. However, we kindly ask that you don’t argue with our rejection. Our guidelines are stringent. We prefer that all writers we work with display the same respect and professionalism that we give.
We will be open to submissions for our Hideous Evermore anthology now until March 31, 2009.
Should you have any questions, email Seth Drake at editor@shadowcitypress.com.
GENERAL SUBMISSIONS
Shadow City Press is currently open to submissions via invitation only. We have a strong team of publishing scouts who search for our authors through buzz created via Internet message boards, author web sites and popular sites such as MySpace. We hope to be offering general submission guidelines in the future.
Since we primarily focus on providing limited edition books to a vast audience, we can currently only do so on an author by author basis.
Feel free to check back to our website on a regular basis to view the latest author/book we are promoting and our future publishing criteria.
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