HIGH RISE HORROR
This anthology is a multi-horror sub-genre experiment focused on the strange sensation that so many people living in one place can experience such vastly different things.
SUBMISSION WINDOW:
Jan 15th - March 15th
WORDCOUNT:
Stories must be no more than 4,000 words - I will accept both short stories and flash (under 1,000 words) pieces!
PAYMENT:
$5 flash
$10 story/poem
Plus a digital contributor copy!
WHAT THEY'RE SEEKING:
This anthology is a multi-horror sub-genre experiment focused on the strange sensation that so many people living in one place can experience such vastly different things. With the goal of writing about deeply personal terrors taking place in the various apartments in the high-rise, each author is free to be as morbid, as wild, as wicked, as disturbing, and horrific as they please! Do you like body horror? Write about a resident being consumed by the walls of the unit. Do you like supernatural stories? Write about the strange scratching your resident hears in the walls. Do you like psychological horror? Write about your resident's slow descent to madness after their doorknob vanishes. The possibilities are literally endless!
About the complex: The high-rise is a 10 story complex in the middle of a vast, open field surrounded by nothingness. It's a state of the art, luxury complex with several amenities to enrich your experience, and each unit comes with a scenic view, brand new appliances, high-speed internet, spacious bedrooms, and walk-in closets. No two units have the same layout, so your new home will be just as unique as you are! With a massive pool, large gym, clean dog park, private parking garage, and luxury rooftop bar, the complex is the perfect place to call home. The rent is reasonable (only costing you your soul) and the lease lasts a lifetime, so we hope to see you on our tenant list soon!
PLEASE DON'T SEND:
Obviously no AI-generated stories, I WILL stalk your socials to check and see if you use/rely on those programs and I will not associate myself or my publishing brand with stories as such.
No stories featuring any hate-speech, bigotry, sexism, homophobia, SA, child-related stuff, all of the typical "why did you think this was a good idea?" content.
REPRINTS: [YES/NO]
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: [YES/NO]
(You go get 'em!) just let me know if you get picked up elsewhere!
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: [YES/NO]
You can send in the following: ONE short story, TWO flash fiction pieces, or TWO poems (if you have one flash and one poem, that's fine, too).
EXTRA INFORMATION:
Any genre of horror is accepted: Epistolary, psychological, romance, body, paranormal, 2nd POV, slasher, gooey, eco, cosmic, etc.
The only rules I really have are no excessive gore (blood and viscera is fine, but make it matter and part of the story, I am NOT a goop-horror gal so those will be tough sells) and no explicit horrorotica, I want this to be an approachable anthology so try and keep it R-rated, not M if that makes sense.
Be creative! Throw in some unique things like missing cat posters or graffiti on the walls, things that are visually appealing that can be used in the anthology! I'm planning on getting crazy with the format and design so the more references and Easter eggs I can play with, the better!
Any and all authors are welcome to submit! BIPOC, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ writers are highly encouraged to send something in. Never subbed to an anthology before? Send something in! Never dabbled in horror? We want to read your take on it! Does your country have interesting rules or layouts to their apartments? Tell us about it!
FORMATTING GUIDELINES:
You are encouraged to be weird with it! Is part of your story backwards, like a message on a mirror? Do you want to tell your story through a chat log, epistolary style? Does something spooky happen in the fridge and you want it to be covered with creepy kiddo drawings? DO IT! I want creativity, I want immersion, so don't be afraid to get experimental! AND send in some stuff that you'd like included! Have your kids draw weird things, send in family photos I can blur the faces on, send me artsy photos of the dark corners of YOUR apartment!
Double Spaced
12 pt font
Submissions need to be in PDF format (I use a Mac and work in Pages so Word docs don't load properly, this helps me ensure I can read your story how it's meant to be read).
If you also send in images like drawings, family photos, pics of your own apartment, PLEASE make sure they're titled High-Rise Horror - Your Name.
SUBMITTING:
Stories must be emailed with the following subject line: APARTMENT SUBMISSION - STORY NAME - AUTHOR NAME - and sent to Alycia.Lynn.Davidson@gmail.com
Please include a short bio, no more than 100 words, your social links/website, and the type of story - Flash, Short, Poem.
Also please include your top pick for your apartment number! And a back-up just in case we need it, the high-rise is ten floors tall so try and keep that in mind while picking a number, but you aren't super restricted as to what you want so long as it's under 1099, the complex has an expansive floor plan. Try not to use super obvious or meme-numbers like 1, 666, 420, 69, etc. This isn't a comedy anthology.
ESTIMATED RESPONSE TIME:
[estimated response time]
RIGHTS REQUESTED:
[rights requested]
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