February, 2022 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

 HWA L.A.: February, 2022
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Tempered Tales: Medusa (Brigids Gate Press)
https://brigidsgatepress.com/?page_id=17
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: ?,000–?,000 words
Deadline: March 15, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: April 30, 2022
Description: Medusa. The work can be set in any time period, including now or the future. It can rely heavily on her mythology or just give it a nod. It should be her story, good or bad. Horror, fantasy, dark fantasy, mystery, or any combination of mash up welcome.


Dark Recesses Magazine
http://darkrecessespress.com/submissions/
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: 500–5,000 words
Deadline: Revolving submission periods. Current widow is through May 15.
Reprints?: No
Response: Up to 12 weeks
Description: Non-themed horror/dark fiction pieces.


Galaxy’s Edge Magazine
http://www.galaxysedge.com/submissions/
Payment: 7 cents a word
Story Length: up to 10,000 words (though less is better)
Deadline: intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: 6 weeks
Description: Science Fiction and Fantasy stories in all sub-genres (No horror).


Picnic in the Graveyard (Cemetery Gates Media)
https://cemeterygatesmedia.com/submissions/
Payment: 7 cents a word
Story Length: 3,000–6,000 words
Deadline: April 1, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: 2 months; or, beyond that, may not respond in case of rejection.
Description: Horror stories that take place in a cemetery/burial place.


Planet Scumm
https://www.planetscumm.space/submit
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: May 2, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Previously unpublished short fiction that doesn’t lean heavily on genre tropes. Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, sci-fi that melts in your mouth-brain not your hand-brain. Speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream, glitterlit, analogpunk. Basically anything that pleases Scummy, our megaphone-toting slime buddy.


Little Blue Marble
https://littlebluemarble.ca/submission-guidelines
Payment: 11 cents a word (Canadian) (1 cent/word for reprints)
Story Length: up to 2,000 (reprints allowed up to 5,000 at <1 cent/ word)
Deadline: Intermittent (currently set to close July 31, 2022)
Reprints?: No
Response: up to 12 weeks
Description: Speculative fiction that examines humanity’s possible futures living with anthropogenic climate change. We prefer fiction with a hopeful outlook, but the occasional dystopia might fit too.


***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (anthology, edited by James Aquilone)
https://www.jamesaquilone.com/submissions
Payment: $120 flat
Story Length: 1,500–5,000 words
Deadline: Open between February 11–May 15, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Stories from throughout Kolchak’s life, from the late 1930s to the late ’90s. (Please, be familiar with Kolchak before writing your story and watch the TV movies and series!) I.E. Fan fiction for Kolchak, the reporter investigates mysterious/supernatural crimes.


The Last Five Minutes of a Storm (Sans. Press)
https://www.sanspress.com/submissions
Payment: €150 flat (abt. $170 U.S.)
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: March 7, 2022
Reprints?: No
Response: T
Description: Short stories that reflect the title. i.e. stories that come from the specific place of mind they take you to. (Examples: How does it feel to be in the eye of the hurricane? What does it mean to know that the storm will vanish very soon, if only you can hold on a second longer? Now that the monster is defeated, can the hero make it out of the maze? Do they still  want to?).

DAY 30 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: +HORROR LIBRARY+ Volume 7

ANNOUNCING: I’m posting all contributors, one-a-day, to reveal the Table of Contents for +Horror Library+ Volume 7, to be published by Dark Moon Books on March 1, 2022!

DAY 30 OF 30: GARICK COOKE

30. Garick Cooke presents “Holder City”
29. Matt Thompson presents “Ring Road”
28. Michael James presents “Attention”
27. Darren Todd presents “8-Ball”
26. Charlie Hughes presents “The Riverman”
25. Trevor James Zaple presents “Like Old Rope”
24. Suki Litchfield presents “The Kid in the Ambulance”
23. Liam Hogan presents “In the Devil’s Footsteps”
22. Brady Golden presents “Neon Showgirl”
21. Darren O. Godfrey presents “Discovery of Blanks”
20. Zoe Kaplan presents “The Test”
19. Colin Leonard presents “The Burning Heart”
18. David Afsharirad presents “just keep walking”
17. William Meikle presents “Gateway to Oblivion”
16. Valya Dudycz Lupescu presents “The Tooth Butcher”
15. Gene O’Neill presents “Ring Rust”
14. H. Pueyo presents “Death Republic”
13. Scotty Milder presents “Giant and Child: A Fugue”
12. Lucy Taylor presents “If You Touch Me, I Can Cry”
11. Terry Dowling presents “The Key to Mabella”
10. Christi Nogle presents “The Apartment”
9. Baba Jide Low presents “Pretties / Serpent”
8. Kristi Petersen Schoonover presents “February Thaw”
7. Bentley Little presents “In the Valley”
6. Rex Burrows presents “Skandalopetra”
5. Alex Woodroe presents “Abandon”
4. Cody Goodfellow presents “Hand of Glory”
3. Natalia Theodoridou presents “The Mouth”
2. Jo Kaplan presents “Her. House.”
1. Michael Harris Cohen presents “Never Better”


###

In “Holder City,” a young man picks up a hitchhiker who directs him to the remnants of a ruined town.

STORY EXCERPT:

          As they exited the roadbed, the canopy of sixty- and eighty-foot second growth fir lining the highway gave way to a patchwork of oak, madrone, and willow, all tangled with underbrush and tall grass. The girl pointed him down the slope of an old dirt road that had been graded once, but not recently, and was now overgrown with tall weeds and saplings that pinged against the undercarriage of the Sprint as he edged toward the little stream at the bottom. The water was shallow, and they forded it without trouble and went on to the other side, switching back and forth up the hillside. The road was rougher this side of the ford, with deep ruts that had been baked into something like concrete by the heat. Badge cursed under his breath and worried about his suspension. He worried about the girl, too. She’d been smiling ever since they left the highway, but she didn’t say anything.
     They came to a fork in the road, and the girl pointed him to the right. Badge down-shifted into first and held his foot grimly on the gas. The old car was bucking like a bronco now, and he was regretting the impulse that had made him listen to her. He wondered what he’d got himself into . . .

—Holder City by GARICK COOKE

###

ABOUT: GARICK COOKE

Garick Cooke is a hobbyist writer of speculative fiction, working as a construction estimator during the day. He is a California native, but a long-time resident of Houston, Texas, and a graduate of the University of Houston. In 2021, his first published story appeared in the e-zine Zooscape.

###

AVAILABLE HERE!:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Horror-Library-7-Eric-Guignard/dp/1949491390/

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Horror_Library_7.html

DAY 29 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: +HORROR LIBRARY+ Volume 7

ANNOUNCING: I’m posting all contributors, one-a-day, to reveal the Table of Contents for +Horror Library+ Volume 7, to be published by Dark Moon Books on March 1, 2022!

DAY 29 OF 30: MATT THOMPSON

29. Matt Thompson presents “Ring Road”
28. Michael James presents “Attention”
27. Darren Todd presents “8-Ball”
26. Charlie Hughes presents “The Riverman”
25. Trevor James Zaple presents “Like Old Rope”
24. Suki Litchfield presents “The Kid in the Ambulance”
23. Liam Hogan presents “In the Devil’s Footsteps”
22. Brady Golden presents “Neon Showgirl”
21. Darren O. Godfrey presents “Discovery of Blanks”
20. Zoe Kaplan presents “The Test”
19. Colin Leonard presents “The Burning Heart”
18. David Afsharirad presents “just keep walking”
17. William Meikle presents “Gateway to Oblivion”
16. Valya Dudycz Lupescu presents “The Tooth Butcher”
15. Gene O’Neill presents “Ring Rust”
14. H. Pueyo presents “Death Republic”
13. Scotty Milder presents “Giant and Child: A Fugue”
12. Lucy Taylor presents “If You Touch Me, I Can Cry”
11. Terry Dowling presents “The Key to Mabella”
10. Christi Nogle presents “The Apartment”
9. Baba Jide Low presents “Pretties / Serpent”
8. Kristi Petersen Schoonover presents “February Thaw”
7. Bentley Little presents “In the Valley”
6. Rex Burrows presents “Skandalopetra”
5. Alex Woodroe presents “Abandon”
4. Cody Goodfellow presents “Hand of Glory”
3. Natalia Theodoridou presents “The Mouth”
2. Jo Kaplan presents “Her. House.”
1. Michael Harris Cohen presents “Never Better”


###

In “Ring Road,” a young woman is followed by a mysterious white car wherever she drives.

STORY EXCERPT:

          The white car was closer behind than ever.
          The sky over the outskirts of town had turned the shade of an ash-pile, and the radio played a song Fran half-recognized. She tried to hum along. Her throat was too dry, though, and she could only manage a rough croak. She merged into the line of vehicles turning left onto the ring road. The white car, of course, turned along with her. They joined the three lanes of traffic speeding out of town. Fingers trembling on the steering wheel, she eased into the middle lane to overtake a Mini Cooper.
          The white car overtook it too.
          She wanted to floor the accelerator, to screech onto the hard shoulder, swerving in and around the lorries with their Polish license plates and the tourist coaches with their slack-eyed children gazing out of the rear windows, pummeling out to the motorway as unburdened as a seagull. But she only signaled left and pulled back into the slow lane, a chevron-length in front of the Mini, leaving nowhere near enough space for another vehicle to slot itself in between. The white car pulled in behind her anyway . . .

—Ring Road by MATT THOMPSON

###

ABOUT: MATT THOMPSON

Matt Thompson is a London-based experimental musician and writer of strange fictions. His work has been published at Interzone, Black Static, PseudoPod, Third Flatiron Publishing, Best of British SF anthology series, and many more worthy venues. You can find him online at http://matt-thompson.com.

###

AVAILABLE HERE!:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Horror-Library-7-Eric-Guignard/dp/1949491390/

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Horror_Library_7.html

DAY 28 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: +HORROR LIBRARY+ Volume 7

ANNOUNCING: I’m posting all contributors, one-a-day, to reveal the Table of Contents for +Horror Library+ Volume 7, to be published by Dark Moon Books on March 1, 2022!

DAY 28 OF 30: MICHAEL JAMES

28. Michael James presents “Attention”
27. Darren Todd presents “8-Ball”
26. Charlie Hughes presents “The Riverman”
25. Trevor James Zaple presents “Like Old Rope”
24. Suki Litchfield presents “The Kid in the Ambulance”
23. Liam Hogan presents “In the Devil’s Footsteps”
22. Brady Golden presents “Neon Showgirl”
21. Darren O. Godfrey presents “Discovery of Blanks”
20. Zoe Kaplan presents “The Test”
19. Colin Leonard presents “The Burning Heart”
18. David Afsharirad presents “just keep walking”
17. William Meikle presents “Gateway to Oblivion”
16. Valya Dudycz Lupescu presents “The Tooth Butcher”
15. Gene O’Neill presents “Ring Rust”
14. H. Pueyo presents “Death Republic”
13. Scotty Milder presents “Giant and Child: A Fugue”
12. Lucy Taylor presents “If You Touch Me, I Can Cry”
11. Terry Dowling presents “The Key to Mabella”
10. Christi Nogle presents “The Apartment”
9. Baba Jide Low presents “Pretties / Serpent”
8. Kristi Petersen Schoonover presents “February Thaw”
7. Bentley Little presents “In the Valley”
6. Rex Burrows presents “Skandalopetra”
5. Alex Woodroe presents “Abandon”
4. Cody Goodfellow presents “Hand of Glory”
3. Natalia Theodoridou presents “The Mouth”
2. Jo Kaplan presents “Her. House.”
1. Michael Harris Cohen presents “Never Better”


###

In “Attention,” an unfaithful young man, mourning the death of his girlfriend, finds himself at the center of all the attention he once craved.

STORY EXCERPT:

                   His girlfriend’s grandmother took him aside to speak with him privately. She was a stately woman, stern and buttoned, with tight hair and thin lips. He recalled she was from Canada.
          “This must be hard.” She was of a height with him, and he found himself slouching under her presence.
          “For both of us, ma’am.” He attempted to convey weary maturity. Her lips, already sliver thin, retreated farther.
          “I’ve heard stories about you, Scott.”
          “All good, I hope.” The line and the smile came out on instinct before he could call it back.
          “Not quite.” She brushed a single finger against his cheek. “I hope you continue to get the attention you seem to enjoy. Good day.”
          Nothing about the way she’d said the word “attention” worked for him. The pause. The way her dark eyes flickered. The way his cheek burned where she’d touched him . . .

—Attention by MICHAEL JAMES

###

ABOUT: MICHAEL JAMES

Michael James is the author of the Hotel series, and his work has been featured in Bear Creek Gazette, Sci Fi Lampoon, and Ink and Sword Magazine. His book, The Hotel at the End of Time, was nominated by his mom for “best books written by my son” and placed a close second.

    He lives in Canada with his family and when he’s not writing he’s doing Canadian things—talking about the weather, saying sorry a lot, you know how it goes. You can find him on Twitter at @MikeJamesAuthor.

###

AVAILABLE HERE!:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Horror-Library-7-Eric-Guignard/dp/1949491390/

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Horror_Library_7.html

DAY 27 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: +HORROR LIBRARY+ Volume 7

ANNOUNCING: I’m posting all contributors, one-a-day, to reveal the Table of Contents for +Horror Library+ Volume 7, to be published by Dark Moon Books on March 1, 2022!

DAY 27 OF 30: DARREN TODD

27. Darren Todd presents “8-Ball”
26. Charlie Hughes presents “The Riverman”
25. Trevor James Zaple presents “Like Old Rope”
24. Suki Litchfield presents “The Kid in the Ambulance”
23. Liam Hogan presents “In the Devil’s Footsteps”
22. Brady Golden presents “Neon Showgirl”
21. Darren O. Godfrey presents “Discovery of Blanks”
20. Zoe Kaplan presents “The Test”
19. Colin Leonard presents “The Burning Heart”
18. David Afsharirad presents “just keep walking”
17. William Meikle presents “Gateway to Oblivion”
16. Valya Dudycz Lupescu presents “The Tooth Butcher”
15. Gene O’Neill presents “Ring Rust”
14. H. Pueyo presents “Death Republic”
13. Scotty Milder presents “Giant and Child: A Fugue”
12. Lucy Taylor presents “If You Touch Me, I Can Cry”
11. Terry Dowling presents “The Key to Mabella”
10. Christi Nogle presents “The Apartment”
9. Baba Jide Low presents “Pretties / Serpent”
8. Kristi Petersen Schoonover presents “February Thaw”
7. Bentley Little presents “In the Valley”
6. Rex Burrows presents “Skandalopetra”
5. Alex Woodroe presents “Abandon”
4. Cody Goodfellow presents “Hand of Glory”
3. Natalia Theodoridou presents “The Mouth”
2. Jo Kaplan presents “Her. House.”
1. Michael Harris Cohen presents “Never Better”


###

In “8-Ball,” a lawyer finds a toy Magic 8-Ball from his youth that seems to actually know all, including things better left unrevealed.

STORY EXCERPT:

          . . . “How much?” I asked the lady working the yard sale, trying to sound casual.
          She shrugged. “How ’bout a buck?”
          “Sold,” I said, with maybe too much fervor. Only then did I think to look up at the house. Even years later, I held a loose picture of Henna’s place in my head; this wasn’t it. The lady running the sale was too young to be her mom anyway, and Henna was an only child, so it wasn’t a sister.
          “Where’d you get it?” I asked, peeling off a single from a small fold of them in the pocket of my slacks.
          The lady took the dollar and stuffed it into a Home Depot apron. She said, “Probably bought it at another yard sale. Never had much use for it. You gonna grab it now, or are you still looking?”
          I reached for the thing, but it was like the memories of that night, thirty years earlier, came clearer the closer my hand got to the toy. It wasn’t fear, but . . . like a warbling in my reality. Almost dreamlike . . .

—8-Ball by DARREN TODD

###

ABOUT: DARREN TODD

Darren Todd is a freelance book editor for Evolved Publications, and his short fiction has appeared in more than thirty publications over the years. He has had four plays and a feature-length film produced and a non-fiction book published.

            While some of his works fall under the literary umbrella, he specializes in speculative horror. His style and reading preferences tend toward the psychological, as he enjoys stories that linger in the imagination long after he’s closed the book on them.

            He lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his son and girlfriend. See what he’s up to darrentodd.net.

###

AVAILABLE HERE!:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Horror-Library-7-Eric-Guignard/dp/1949491390/

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Horror_Library_7.html

DAY 26 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: +HORROR LIBRARY+ Volume 7

ANNOUNCING: I’m posting all contributors, one-a-day, to reveal the Table of Contents for +Horror Library+ Volume 7, to be published by Dark Moon Books on March 1, 2022!

DAY 26 OF 30: CHARLIE HUGHES

26. Charlie Hughes presents “The Riverman”
25. Trevor James Zaple presents “Like Old Rope”
24. Suki Litchfield presents “The Kid in the Ambulance”
23. Liam Hogan presents “In the Devil’s Footsteps”
22. Brady Golden presents “Neon Showgirl”
21. Darren O. Godfrey presents “Discovery of Blanks”
20. Zoe Kaplan presents “The Test”
19. Colin Leonard presents “The Burning Heart”
18. David Afsharirad presents “just keep walking”
17. William Meikle presents “Gateway to Oblivion”
16. Valya Dudycz Lupescu presents “The Tooth Butcher”
15. Gene O’Neill presents “Ring Rust”
14. H. Pueyo presents “Death Republic”
13. Scotty Milder presents “Giant and Child: A Fugue”
12. Lucy Taylor presents “If You Touch Me, I Can Cry”
11. Terry Dowling presents “The Key to Mabella”
10. Christi Nogle presents “The Apartment”
9. Baba Jide Low presents “Pretties / Serpent”
8. Kristi Petersen Schoonover presents “February Thaw”
7. Bentley Little presents “In the Valley”
6. Rex Burrows presents “Skandalopetra”
5. Alex Woodroe presents “Abandon”
4. Cody Goodfellow presents “Hand of Glory”
3. Natalia Theodoridou presents “The Mouth”
2. Jo Kaplan presents “Her. House.”
1. Michael Harris Cohen presents “Never Better”


###

In “The Riverman,” an elderly widower finds himself inexplicably drawn into the developing events of a local serial killer.

STORY EXCERPT:

          His wife had died suddenly, sat on the sofa watching the news.
          He came in at lunchtime and found her sat upright, a half-eaten slice of toast resting on her lap while a reporter on the TV spoke about another missing woman from Kent. In the street beyond the front window, people passed, going about their daily business. Terrance held Audrey’s hand while waiting for the ambulance, knowing she was gone but pretending they were watching the news together, just as they always did.
          In the days that followed, Terrance hardly moved from the same spot on the sofa, watching the same news channel, thinking only of her distress at the end, believing that if he sat there long enough, he would glimpse the world as she had seen it in her final moments. After a while, a neighbor saw him through the front window and knocked on the door. Terrance did not move, not even when others came to the window and cooed at him to respond. So the door was bashed in and the professionals were summoned. He had to go to a hospital for a while because of something called “Complicated Grief Disorder.” . . .

—The Riverman by CHARLIE HUGHES

###

ABOUT: CHARLIE HUGHES

Charlie Hughes writes dark suspense and horror stories from his home in South London, UK. His work has also been published by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and various anthologies. His horror short story “The Box” won the 2016 Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition. His stories have also been performed on the NoSleep Podcast and Creepy Podcast. Charlie’s novelette “The Collection” will appear in a forthcoming issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

###

AVAILABLE HERE!:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Horror-Library-7-Eric-Guignard/dp/1949491390/

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Horror_Library_7.html