We are looking for horror/suspense/mystery/supernatural stories that take place in rural
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.
What we want:
Original stories about standard zombies that have not been printed anywhere before.
Only slow, Romero-type zombies. Keep the plot true to a world where the dead walk.
All the stories need to be set during either Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead timeline. Therefore the zombies are not rotting and purtid just yet, but do have wounds or have just left the funeral home.
No viruses, the dead walk and we don't know why, just like the movies. Its not airborn ect. you die, you come back, period.
In this world, the dead walking is new as people deal with it in their own ways, be it fight or run.
No werewolves or vampires, its the world we live in but the dead walk, otherwise everything is the same.
We want action, save the intelligent stories for someone else. We want blood, gore and guns.
Also, we are not fans of first person stories so unless your story is absolutley fantastic, only a few will be picked that are in first person.
Here's the deal folks. If we start reading and the story goes of in any other direction than what we are looking for, it gets rejected for this book on the spot.
Your story only needs two things to qualify:
Stories are to range from 3,000 to 6,000 words. The story can be up to 10,000, but you only get paid to 6. Nothing under 3,000 will be considered, they are too short. We want real stories, not flash fiction.
Location of author:
You need to be in the U.S or maybe Canada. We aren't set up to do international business right now but will be in the future.
So if you don't live in those two locales above, then please don't send the story right now.
What rights do we want?
First print and electronic rights to your story and exclusive rights for 1-year after publication. After that you can resell it. But we do have the right to use the story for as long as there is demand for the book.
What we don’t want:
Multiple submissions are allowed, but only up to two at any one time.
What we’re making:
The Book of the Dead will be published as a trade paperback and perhaps as an e-book.
What you get:
1 cent a word and a contributor’s copy of the book. The paperback copy of the book will be sent to you upon or shortly after the book’s official release date. Payment is based on final word count from the final edited copy of the story, so once your story is ready for print, payment will be sent to you via check.
What to send:
Please send your story in standard manuscript format:
Courier, arial or baskerville, 12pt, it really doesnt matter because the first thing we do before reading your story is change to Georgia 12 point, then we read and edit the work at the same time in hopes we are going to take it.
Make sure any italicized words are underlined. Also include your name and contact information, phone number, on the first page as well as your name in the upper right corner of subsequent pages. Don’t forget to also number your pages.
We don't want double spaced, we want to see the story how it would look in a book so as we read it we can get the full feeling of the story.
We also would rather not see the story indented. Keep it flush to the left with no double spaces. If we take your story, its easier to format into the book if its like we just described. When we get them tabbed, it all has to be taken away again, agravating to say the least.
If you dont underline what you want italizied then dont complain if its not like that in the book.
Where to send it:
Send all submissions via email to livingdeadpress@yahoo.com
Please also use the same address for any questions not addressed here.
When to send it by:
Payment: Payment will be $0.01 word based on the final edited version. Rounded to the nearest hundred words, plus one Authors copy.
Stories for anthologies should be between 2000-8000 words and be submitted with a brief Bio and a synopsis of your story in standard form as an attachment to anthologies@severedpress.com please advise us if story has been published before.
The deadline for submissions are as follows:
2012AD - 15/04/09
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
