Sunday 26 January 2014

Call for submissions!

Tales of Mystery, Suspense & Terror - Short story anthology 

 

The Victorian era was the heyday of the ghost-story and it has been said that a good Victorian host would place a copy of work by Sheridan Le Fanu by their guest’s bedside for the hours after midnight. So taking inspiration from gothic fiction and the rich legacy of 19th century ghost stories, we aim to celebrate the supernatural through a new collection of tales of mystery, suspense and terror!

19th Century ghost stories were the extension of Gothic fiction pioneered by Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe, with M.R. James and Sheridan Le Fanu representing the best known masters of this genre.  Thus we hope to elicit narratives inspired by the 19th century ghost story. Tales that lure unsuspecting readers in through mood and setting, stories to be savoured through accounts which focus on suspense rather than gore, and fictions which leave readers to the mercy of their imaginations. We want the type of stories which are so compelling you’ll wish you had a second chance to read them for the first time!

We are especially interested in stories that are truly unique in character, whether written from less common points of view or because of the sustained chilling disquiet which they instil in the reader. Most of all, we want to produce a collection filled with stories we are as excited to read as we are to share. When you wish you’d waited for sunrise to put words to paper, that’s the story that we want! Sleep uneasy prospective authors, we eagerly await your submissions; may your night terrors give you inspiration.

Submissions open 1 February and close 31st May 2014



4 comments:

  1. Would you consider a flash fiction piece? Thanks, Robin Dunn

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  2. Hi Robin, thank-you for your query. We would prefer longer pieces for this anthology, up to 3000 words. However, we would consider shorter stories of not less than 1500 words.

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  3. Hello. I have a piece I would like to submit. I read over your submission guidelines, and have no issues, save for one. You say submissions should adhere to British spelling, grammar, etc. I'm an American. I know "color" should be "colour." So I suppose I could set my word processor spell check to "UK English." But it won't be perfect.

    Should I do that?
    Submit as American English, but give you free reign to "fix" it?

    I'm willing to do whatever you feel is best.

    Regards,
    Michael

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  4. Hello Michael,

    Yes, please do spell check with your word processor set to UK English. It may not catch everything but it certainly helps if the author does this prior to submitting. For the author, it is one story, but for the editor it is every story in the collection that gets checked. We prefer not to have to 'fix' it as you say! This goes for single quotes as opposed to double quotes as well. I believe this is mentioned in the sub guidelines as well.

    Looking forward to reading your work.

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