Horror Markets – Where To Send Your Stories
Hello my gentle readers!
I’m writing this blog post in response to the many times I see people asking where they can submit their short horror stories. I wrote a short post about my favourite sites, which gathers many submission calls together already, but thought it was time to share an extended list. Hopefully this helps all you fellow writers out there find good homes for your wonderful works of terror!Along with the name of the website or company, I have included a short description next to each entry. Just click on the name to jump to the website.Now without further ado:
Individual Publications
Gehenna & Hinnom Books: G&H is the place to send your weird fiction and cosmic horror. They currently pay 2 cents per word and are looking for works with a word count of 1,000 - 6,000 words. Be careful though, because they state that “all horror MUST BE otherworldly or supernatural in some way. Science Fiction MUST BE dark and speculative. Fantasy MUST BE morally ambiguous and grim.”
Nightmare Magazine: Nightmare is pretty high-end and includes fiction from well-known authors. They want your horror and dark fantasy, promising that no subject "should be considered off-limits." They pay 6 cents per word for original fiction, or 1 cent per word for reprints and are looking for stories with 1,500 - 7,500 words.
Pseudopod: they label themselves an “audio” magazine and are looking for dark horror and weird fiction. They want stories similar to that of Poe or Lovecraft as well as “vulgar shock-value pulp fiction.” They pay 6 cents a word for original fiction, $100 flat rate for short story reprints, and $20 flat rate for flash fiction reprints. They want your short fiction (1,500 - 6,000 words) and your flash fiction (below 1,500 words.)
Occult Detective Quarterly: in their own words, they are looking for “well-written stories featuring those who investigate or explore the strange and unusual, so general scary encounters.” They want stories between 3,000 - 6,000 words and pay 1 cent per word, with a $50 cap.
Dark Moon Digest: they are looking for short stories in a similar vein to The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, Tales from the Crypt, and Tales from the Darkside. In their words: "make our brains hurt." They also have a very long list of things they don't want to see like "a person is bitten by a mysterious something and is terrorized by the grotesque infection" and "a serial killer murders someone." Payment is 1 cent a word and they want something between 1,500 - 7,000 words.
Schlock! Webzine: send them your sci-fi, horror, and fantasy as long as it is no more than 7,500 words. No payment but they're a pretty cool looking magazine and if you're a new writer, you can get some exposure that way.
Apex: paying at 6 cents a word, Apex is top tier (get it? Apex? Top?) They want your fiction at a max of 7,500 words and you might even get on their podcast!
Lamplight: they are looking for stories like The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. In their words: “the creepy, the weird and the unsettling.” They have a limit of 7,000 words and are paying 3 cents per word with a $150.00 max for unpublished or 1 cent per word for reprints.
The Dark: they want your horror and dark fantasy, between 2,000 - 6,000 words. They say "don't be afraid to experiment or to deviate from the ordinary" so this might be the home for your weirder stuff (but they don't want graphic or violent horror.) They pay 6 cents a word up to 6,000 words.
Websites
Dark Markets: this is my go-to website. I just like the format and that it is updated a lot. ‘Nuff said. They also have a Twitter you can follow to get calls delivered right to your feed.
Horror Tree: is a website that gathers up calls for submissions and will list a general outline of what that publication wants. Check back frequently to see new posts.
Open Call: Horror Markets: this is a Facebook group that hosts open calls for horror fiction. Their guidelines say they only post calls that pay upwards of $25 a story, so that’s nice!
Ralan: this website is very well organized and comprehensive, listing open calls by category and market (pro, semi-pro, etc.)
The Grinder: This one was suggested to me, but I’ve never used it so I can’t vouch for it. It’s a website that describes itself as a “submission tracker and market database.” So, it seems to have a database of open calls but also tracks where your submissions are at if you have a profile on the site. Again, I haven’t used it but thought it looked interesting enough to share.
Whew. Obviously that’s not a huge list, but I figured it would give most people a good place to start. Get those websites bookmarked and check back to see updated posts on publications that are currently looking for submissions and what their guidelines are. The magazines I listed are ones that are top tier, interesting, and/or currently looking so you should check them out.
Think I missed something obvious, something cool, something must-add? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!
Talk soon, my ghouls and ghosts!
x P.L. McMillan