HORROR ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSIONS

Samak Press is planning our first horror anthology Feral Lands for publication in 2025.

As the title suggests, Feral Lands will feature terrifying tales set in untamed lands beyond the reach of civilization. Isolation and horror go hand in hand in these settings. Perhaps it is a wilderness hiking trail. Maybe it is an abandoned ghost town. The stories populating this anthology occur in places where you don’t dare to look behind you for fear of what’s lurking in the shadows.

What we want

For this anthology, Samak Press is seeking original horror stories that fit snugly within the imagery, concept, and theme of Feral Lands. Wilderness horror, survival horror, and monster horror are especially welcome, but stories can encompass any horror subgenre. Blending elements from genres like science fiction or dark fantasy is acceptable as long as horror is a central element and the story fits thematically with the anthology. We want gripping tales of vicious monsters, creepy killers, vengeful spirits, or other truly terrifying entities that will stop us from setting your story down until we’ve finished the final page.

Original stories will grab our attention. Boring retreads of the same ol’ horror cliches will banish you straight to the slush pile, never to return.

Dare to think beyond the usual tropes. Resist the urge to travel down the lazy path and send us a tale centering on sexy vampires or a zombie apocalypse. Those types of stories are stale, derivative, and not at all scary. We want our readers to scream and hide under their blankets, not yawn and fall asleep on their couches.

Samak Press will automatically reject stories with extreme gore or stories that glorify sexual violence, child abuse, cruelty to animals, or other deviant behavior.

AI Warning

Samak Press does not accept submissions written, developed or assisted by AI tools such as ChatGPT. We want stories created and written by real living human beings. Any attempts to submit AI-assisted work will result in a permanent ban from future submissions to Samak Press.

Submissions

Submit your story using the classic or modern Shunn Standard Manuscript Format via email. Your manuscript must be attached in DOC, DOCX, RTF, or ODT file format. All submissions must be emailed to [email protected] with your story title followed by the words “horror anthology submission” written in the email subject line. (Example: STORY TITLE/HORROR ANTHOLY SUBMISSION).

Please include a cover letter in the body of your submission email. The cover letter should include your name, mailing address, and contact information. It should also include a short author biography (150 to 200 words) and a brief two to three paragraph summary of what your story is about and why you feel it would be a good fit for the anthology.

Deadline

The window for submissions will remain open until October 31, 2024. Any story submissions after that date will automatically be rejected.

Word count

Stories must be between 1,500 and 7,500 words. No more. No less. Submissions falling outside of either end of this range will be automatically rejected.

Payment

Authors will be paid a flat $20 (USD) via Paypal upon publication if their story is chosen for the anthology. They will also receive a complimentary eBook edition of the anthology.

Rights

Samak Press acquires exclusive first world serial rights, exclusive first electronic rights, and exclusive anthology rights for each story included in the anthology for the duration of one year. We also acquire an option for exclusive worldwide audio rights for the duration of one year from the time the anthology is produced as an audiobook or podcast episode.

All specified rights revert to non-exclusive after the specified one-year window has elapsed. If a story is published elsewhere after this time, we request the author includes a note stating their story first appeared in the Feral Lands anthology published by Samak Press.

Simultaneous submissions/reprints

Samak Press will not accept simultaneous submissions or reprints for this anthology. We are seeking original unpublished stories. Stories previously posted on blogs, author websites, Patreon, Substack, and Beehiv in any form are considered a published work and will be ineligible for inclusion in the anthology.

Multiple submissions

Please limit your submission to one story per anthology. Multiple submissions to the same anthology are not allowed.

Response times

Samak Press will respond to every submission within 90 days after the submission window is closed. Due to the anticipated volume of submissions, we cannot offer personalized feedback on every rejected story. If you have not heard back from us after the specified 90-day period has elapsed, direct your inquires to [email protected].

DO NOT contact our editorial staff through their personal emails or social media accounts.

Privacy

Samak Press will not share author’s personal information (name, address, email, phone, et al) with anyone outside our editorial staff without express written permission from the author.