THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE: HORROR IN RURAL AMERICA

We are looking for horror/suspense/mystery/supernatural stories that take place in rural America. Other genres are okay as long as the main theme is dark and/or disturbing. Think farmland. Think abandoned buildings. Think small towns with nosy neighbors. Think malevolence in middle America. Think long, creepy country roads. Most importantly, think outside the box!

Traditional monsters (vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, mummies, etc.) Are welcome as long as presented in a fresh and interesting way. For more information, check our website at Pill Hill Press.

The Devil’s Food Anthology of Horror.

The Monsters Next Door presents The Devil’s Food Anthology of Horror.

What we want:
Stories should be centered on humans as food for some type of monster. Stories should have a supernatural element. Classic monsters (vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc…) are okay, as well as new, creative and original monsters. The focus of the story should be the threat of being eaten; this should dominate the tone of the story. Gore, sex, and violence are fine as long as it is used to enhance the story and not merely for the gross out or the smut.

Stories should be 3000 to 7500 words in length, Times New Roman font, double spaced, two spaces after sentence ending punctuation. Please do not use headers or footers. Stories should be sent as .rtf or .doc documents. The author’s contact info should be on the first page of the manuscript as well as in the body of the email. A short synopsis should also be in the body of the email.

What we don’t want: Romance. Child abuse and rape (if it is vital to the story it should be implied, NOT vividly described). Serial killers who work for the Devil or God or any other religious icon. Sexy vampires. If you use vampires make them monsters, not the boy or girl next door. Overly comedic pieces. Fan fiction. Stories set in a time period pre-1900s (although, we would like to see a few Western settings). Experimental prose and second person accounts. Stories that read like diary journals. Reprints.

Terms and how to submit:
We will pay $25 dollars and a contributor’s copy for First North American serial rights for each story selected. Authors will be paid upon publication. All rights revert back to the author upon publication.

Send submissions to MonsterAnthology@yahoo.com as attached .rtf or .doc file. On the subject line, put DEVIL’S FOOD: your story’s title. If you do not receive confirmation that we received your submission within 10 days, feel free to query.

Multiple submissions are fine as long as they are in separate emails. Simultaneous submissions okay as long as it is clearly stated in the cover letter (aka body of the email).

Submissions will remain open until April 1, 2009. All submissions will be responded to by June 1, 2009. Do not query on your status until after that date. Publication date is scheduled for late summer 2009.