Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flat Amount / Reprints Allowed
Taking Submissions: The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2023 Window
by Stuart Conover · Published December 8, 2022 · Updated November 29, 2022
Submission Window: January 1st, 2023 to February 28th, 2023
Payment: Contributors copy and $20 USD for original stories and $5 for reprints
Theme: Folk Horror, Psychological Horror, Gothic Horror, Weird Fiction / Lovecraftian, Post-Apocalyptic
Note: Reprints Welcome
Our next submissions window will be for "The Black Beacon Book of Horror".
The submissions window will be from the 1st of January to the 28th of February, 2023.
Patreon patrons are invited to submit effective immediately.
Oh, the horror! But what kind of horror do we want?
We want your very best horror stories in keeping with the themes and styles that make Black Beacon Books stand out from the pack. If you don't know what that means, you probably haven't read any of our previous titles…we strongly suggest you do so. In short, our passion is for great plots, evocative settings, suspense and atmosphere, and clever twists. We want that creeping feeling of unease that grows to a spine-chilling climax. In terms of horror subgenres, these are what are most likely to tickle our fancies:
– Folk Horror (Black Beacon Books is based in Brittany and your editor loves all things Celtic and mystical, so folk horror from all around the world is likely to attract his attention)
– Psychological Horror (We are the monsters)
– Gothic Horror (Can you channel Shelley, Poe, Stoker, Gaskell or Le Fanu?)
– Weird Fiction / Lovecraftian (But it had better be original)
– Post-Apocalyptic (Make us fear the future)
We regularly post news on our Facebook page. You can also get a feel for what we like by buying our previously published titles. Publishing quality fiction is an expensive passion, so the more we sell, the more we can publish. It's that simple. Our cherished Patreon patrons also provide us with the means to keep producing quality books.
We use PayPal to pay our contributors. If your submission is successful, you'll need an account. Alternatively, we can pay with an electronic Amazon gift coupon. Payment is made upon publication.
$20 USD for original stories and $5 for reprints regardless of length, plus one print copy. Preferred word count between 3,000 and 9,000 words.
Please read the all the guidelines below before submitting.
ANTHOLOGY GUIDELINES AND DETAILS
Please submit one story per publication. No simultaneous submissions for original fiction.
Stories are chosen on merit and suitability for the anthology. However, when it comes to choosing between equally worthy submissions, social media presence and engagement may be taken into account. Social media is at the heart of our marketing strategy and most of our contributors have profiles on multiple platforms. Look them up if you need ideas about how to interact with readers online.
The best way to get a feel for the kind of fiction we're likely to publish is to buy our previously published titles. This provides you with examples of accepted stories, demonstrates our high standard of editing, and helps finance future anthologies and increases the possibility of better pay rates.
What we expect from authors:
1) We strongly recommend you purchase a copy of a previous anthology to be sure you want to be part of our team. We're choosing stories for our anthology, but you're also choosing a home for your work. We want you to feel you've made the right choice.
2) Please submit quality writing and be prepared to work with the team to make your story the very best it can be.
3) If your submission is successful, we need you to help promote the anthology through word-of-mouth and online networking.
1) Original Fiction: Inclusion in the anthology means that you give BBB First World English rights (this means your story will appear in this anthology for the first time in English, covering both electronic and print publications). After the official release of the anthology, all rights revert to the Author, and BBB will not publish it in any other publication without your permission.
2) Reprints: We purchase Non-Exclusive Reprint rights, which means your previously published story can be sold to other publications at the same time and at any time after our anthology. Of course, it is your duty as the Author to ensure you retain the relevant rights to reprints submitted to us. You should tell us where your story was first published so we can provide appropriate credit to the original publisher within our anthology.
Details on rights can be found at Writing-World.
How to submit:
– All grammar and punctuation to be used appropriately. This is your best friend: https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/grammar-and-usage, and if you don't know how to use commas, visit these sites: https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/comma and https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp
In terms of comma usage, here are three simple examples of what we require:
Yesterday, I followed him home.
As soon as I hear from him, I'll let you know.
I bought an axe, rope, and a box of matches.
– We're not fans of fiction written in the present tense. Please use the traditional first-person or third-person past. We don't accept fiction written in second-person (you) since we don't publish choose-your-own-adventure books.
– Quotation marks to be single and curly/smart for general dialogue and placed outside (after) the comma or full stop. Double curly quotation marks for emphasised words if really needed, eg. They entered the mound of rubble, making sure the splintered door didn't fall off its hinges. This was Stan's "castle".
– A single space at the end of sentences.
– Formatted indentation for paragraphs, 0.5cm first line. Do not use the space bar or tab bar.
– No headers or footers and no page numbers.
– Scene breaks should be identified with a hash # preceded and followed by one line space. Like this…
…the # centred and the following paragraph indented. In a short story, there will generally be between zero and five of these. In addition to scene breaks, the hash is useful for signalling the beginning of a story within a story, or a change in narrative style, such as when the narrator is first introduced alongside his audience in a bar or living room before the text changes to his first-person recounting of events.
– Please use italics sparingly and underline them in your document. They take up a lot of time for an editor. Italics should only be used for titles (books, films, songs etc) in the story, foreign words or phrases not commonly used in English (eg not for "spaghetti", "samurai" or "rendez-vous" but definitely for Ich liebe dich, buongiorno, or Éirinn go Brách), sounds like Bang! (sparingly). A character's direct thoughts can also be in italics, whereas quotation marks must be used for speech. For the names of places, restaurants, shops and so forth, just use capital letters, eg. Haunted Lighthouse Inn.
– Don't use a full stop after title abbreviations. Eg. Mr Smith, Mrs Jenkins, Dr Chang.
– Avoid overusing ellipses. We prefer the em-dash to indicate interrupted speech or thought.
Honestly, the best way to find out what we want is to buy one of our titles.
Once you've finished your tale and edited it…and edited again, and asked your mum and dog to proof-read it, send it as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file to [email protected]
Be sure to include your contact details in your email and on the first page of your story. Please include a short biography (about a hundred words) as well as links to your blog and social media pages at the end of your story.
The email title should read write: "BBB Anthology Submission: (anthology name)". The file name should be: "Story Title" by "Author Name" (pen name if applicable) and "reprint" if appropriate.
Submissions that do not follow the guidelines or are sent outside of open calls may be deleted unread.
Via: Black Beacon Books.
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