Call for Submissions — Novellas, Novelettes, and Chapbooks: Weird Fiction and Cosmic Horror

SUBMISSIONS OPEN ON APRIL 1ST AND END ON MAY 31ST.

SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED!

We will be seeking 3 NOVELLAS, 5 NOVELETTES, and 3-4 STORIES FOR EACH (3) CHAPBOOK(S).

THE LENGTHS REQUIRED FOR EACH CATEGORY ARE FIRM! DO NOT SUBMIT LENGTHS OUTSIDE THE CATEGORY YOU CHOOSE.

The release dates for all titles will be dispersed throughout 2018 and into the first half of 2019.

NOVELLAS

WHAT WE WANT

We are seeking three novellas (15,000 to 40,000 Words FIRM). The genres we are looking for are in the realms of cosmic horror and weird fiction.

We want novellas that surprise us, that haunt our dreams. Speculative fiction with elegant prose and original concepts. Stories that make us think, that catch our attention from the first page and keep us glued to the story all the way to the end.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

• Fiction that isn’t speculative. We don’t want any stories that could possibly be based in reality. All fiction must be otherworldly, supernatural, etc.
• Novellas that employ the second person narrative voice.
• Novellas that have been previously published. NO REPRINTS.
• Erotica, fan fiction, or stories with heavy sexual content.
• Fiction that is unoriginal or uses recycled themes. Surprise us!
• As always, the most taboo topics are fine, as long as they are used professionally and respectably. Anything with overuse of vulgarity or purposely gross language for the sake of being gross will not be considered.
• NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS.
• NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS UNLESS YOU QUERY FIRST.
• Stories with numerous errors. This should be a given. Always read through your work or have your editor or a friend read through it before sending it anywhere.
• Artwork submissions. We have already hired the artists for the covers.
• Anything that has been rejected previously for a separate submissions call.

Submit fiction in proper manuscript format. If you need help regarding the formatting, follow this link. We cannot state how severely it will affect your chances if your story has poor formatting. We are expecting a massive volume of submissions for this call, and if it’s not formatted properly, it will slow down the entire process for us. Please consider this when submitting.

PAYMENT DETAILS

• $300-$400 (depending on length) signing bonus against royalties, which will be paid before publication.
• 35-40% (depending on length) net royalties, paid either monthly or bi-monthly.

 

NOVELETTES (TALES FROM GEHENNA)

Whereas the novellas will be standalone, we are seeking novelettes for our Hinnom Magazine spin-off publication, Tales From Gehenna. Each month Hinnom Magazine is not published, we will release a volume of Tales, which will include a single novelette with original illustrations throughout the story. Think Tales From the Crypt but much spookier!

WHAT WE WANT

We are seeking six novelettes (7,500 to 15,000 Words FIRM). The genres we are looking for are in the realms of cosmic horror and weird fiction.

We want novelettes that surprise us, that haunt our dreams. Speculative fiction with elegant prose and original concepts. Stories that make us think, that catch our attention from the first page and keep us glued to the story all the way to the end.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

• Fiction that isn’t speculative. We don’t want any stories that could possibly be based in reality. All fiction must be otherworldly, supernatural, etc.
• Novelettes that employ the second person narrative voice.
• Novelettes that have been previously published. NO REPRINTS.
• Erotica, fan fiction, or stories with heavy sexual content.
• Fiction that is unoriginal or uses recycled themes. Surprise us!
• As always, the most taboo topics are fine, as long as they are used professionally and respectably. Anything with overuse of vulgarity or purposely gross language for the sake of being gross will not be considered.
• NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS.
• NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS UNLESS YOU QUERY FIRST.
• Stories with numerous errors. This should be a given. Always read through your work or have your editor or a friend read through it before sending it anywhere.
• Artwork submissions. We have already hired the artists for the covers.
• Anything that has been rejected previously for a separate submissions call.

Submit fiction in proper manuscript format. If you need help regarding the formatting, follow this link. We cannot state how severely it will affect your chances if your story has poor formatting. We are expecting a massive volume of submissions for this call, and if it’s not formatted properly, it will slow down the entire process for us. Please consider this when submitting.

PAYMENT DETAILS

• Semi-professional rate of 2 cents per word, minimum of $150 and maximum of $300, which will be paid before publication.

 

CHAPBOOKS (THEMED)

Each chapbook will have a specific theme, and we are seeking 3-4 short stories for each publication.

THEMES:

CHAPBOOK 1:

NIGHTSCAPES — Three to four tales of nightmares, night terrors, the unfathomable dreams. All stories for this chapbook must fit into the previously mentioned concepts. Think the fiction of Thomas Ligotti and Jon Padgett meeting the artwork of Zdzisław Beksiński.

ARTWORK ONLY BEING USED AS REFERENCE. ALL COPYRIGHT BELONGS TO THE ESTATE OF  ZDISLAW BEKSINSKI

WHAT WE WANT

We are seeking three to four short stories (1,500 to 5,000 Words FIRM). We want your most trippy, disturbing tales that question our notions of reality. Shock us with your imagination, show us how unique and weird your nightmares really are.

CHAPBOOK 2:

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A PORTAL? — Three to four tales of inter-dimensional horror. Portals, gateways, archaic and ancient worlds. All stories submitted must follow these themes. Think The Void meets Event Horizon with a little Lovecraft and Barker tossed into the mix.

ARTWORK ONLY BEING USED AS REFERENCE. ALL COPYRIGHT BELONGS TO CHRISCOLD.

WHAT WE WANT

We are seeking three to four short stories (1,500 to 5,000 Words FIRM). We want your most otherworldly tales. Show us dimensions made of nightmares, ancient god-like entities breaking into our world, mankind unlocking denizens of ethereal planes. Enthrall us with the horrors that lie beyond our universe.

CHAPBOOK 3:

VOID BECKONING — Three to four tales of deep space horror. Terrifying monstrosities on ancient moons, malevolent spirits aboard spaceships, mining facilities on other worlds uncovering ancient evils, infectious body-morphing diseases plaguing orbital stations. Think Dead Space meets Alien and Prometheus.

ARTWORK ONLY BEING USED AS REFERENCE. ALL COPYRIGHT BELONGS TO EA GAMES AND URBANATOR

WHAT WE WANT

We are seeking three to four short stories (1,500 to 5,000 Words FIRM). We want your cautionary tales of deep space travel, what could possibly lie ahead in the cosmos. Thrill us with the claustrophobia of space in the event of invading creatures, terrify us with tales of ancient evils found deep in the recesses of the universe. Show us what true horror is in deep space.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

• Fiction that isn’t speculative. We don’t want any stories that could possibly be based in reality. All fiction must be otherworldly, supernatural, etc.
• Short stories that employ the second person narrative voice.
• Short stories that have been previously published. NO REPRINTS.
• Erotica, fan fiction, or stories with heavy sexual content.
• Fiction that is unoriginal or uses recycled themes. Surprise us!
• As always, the most taboo topics are fine, as long as they are used professionally and respectably. Anything with overuse of vulgarity or purposely gross language for the sake of being gross will not be considered.
• NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS TO A SINGLE CHAPBOOK. You are more than welcome to submit one story to each theme, but be aware that no author will appear in more than one chapbook.
• NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS UNLESS YOU QUERY FIRST.
• Stories with numerous errors. This should be a given. Always read through your work or have your editor or a friend read through it before sending it anywhere.
• Artwork submissions. We have already hired the artists for the covers.
• Anything that has been rejected previously for a separate submissions call.

Submit fiction in proper manuscript format. If you need help regarding the formatting, follow this link. We cannot state how severely it will affect your chances if your story has poor formatting. We are expecting a massive volume of submissions for this call, and if it’s not formatted properly, it will slow down the entire process for us. Please consider this when submitting.

PAYMENT DETAILS

• Semi-professional rate of 2 cents per word, minimum of $30 and maximum of $100, which will be paid before publication.

ALL PAYMENTS WILL BE PROCESSED THROUGH PAYPAL

HOW TO SUBMIT:

• Send all submissions and inquiries to gehennapublishinghouse (at) gmail (dot) com.
• Manuscript must be properly formatted and edited before anything else. See format guidelines here.
• Title email as follows: (Type of Submission/Chapbook Theme)/(Title of Story)/(Name)  Example: Novella/Fragile Dreams/Fracassi, or Nightscapes/Origami Dreams/Padgett
• Attach properly formatted manuscript to email as either a DOC, DOCX, or RTF file. No others are accepted. Do not include story in body of email. This will be grounds for automatic rejection.
• Include in the body of your email, or as a cover letter to your manuscript, a short bio including any publication history, awards, social media links, etc.

RESPONSE TIME:

We are expecting a MASSIVE amount of submissions for these calls. Please allow 3-5 months for a response before querying. These titles will be released over the next 12 months, so it will take some time to get back to everyone who has submitted. If you don’t receive a story receipt confirmation within 48 hours, PLEASE CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY. The story may have been filtered into our spam. We will more than likely respond to all submissions long before the 5 month point, but we are setting these times as a precaution.

LEGALITIES:

By sending us your work you understand and agree that:

1. You are the original creator and copyright holder of the work submitted.
2. You are not prohibited by any prior agreement from the transfer of exclusive electronic & print rights in English, and reprint rights.
3. All information submitted is accurate and truthful.
4. You accept sole responsibility for any false statements upon rights not disclosed.

If you are under the age of 18, unfortunately, we cannot accept your submission. These releases will be for an adult audience, and because of this, we require all authors to be of legal age to read and/or submit to it.

Finally, if accepted here and then republished, you are required to cite the release in which you were published.